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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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INTRODUCTION. 



BELIEVING that a small work on fruits, giving- the newest methods and the 
most successful ways of growing and cultivating them, would be appre- 
ciated, I accordingly offer "The Fruit Grower's Friend" to the 
public, trusting that the directions and suggestions contained in its pages will 
enable many a one to derive increased profit, and many an hour of enjoyment in 
their orchards and gardens. Many a retired merchant, banker or professional 
man, ladies also, would gladly spend a few hours each day out in the health- 
giving air, could they find ways for occupying the time pleasantly. I have ac- 
cordingly, in writing of the different fruits, thrown in a number of suggestions as 
to experiments that might be made, besides showing what numerous ways there 
are in which ladies and others can assist in the training and growing of fruits, 
and without resorting to any severe or unpleasant manual labor. 

To those growing fruits for profit, I trust that these pages will prove equally 
helpful. Full directions are given for planting and growing the different fruits, 
and careful explanations made of the most approved and least expensive ways of. 
exterminating destructive insects. The information given in regard to the em- 
ployment of comparatively inexpensive fertilizers for some fruits, as well as that 
in regard to the use of the best packages for marketing, will, I trust, repay them 
for many times the cost of this manual. 

It has been my object to make this work suitable for ready reference, and 
though I have crowded into its pages as much reading matter and information as 
are often found in some books of one hundred pages or more, yet I have en- 
deavored to arrange the different subjects prominently before the eye, so as to be 
seen at a glance, by turning over its leaves. Knowing that in, some sections of 
the counti7 it is easier to employ certain fertilizers, and to follow some experi- 
ments and not others, I have therefore given a number of suggestions on these 
and other different subjects, which. I am led to believe, will assist in affording 
both pleasure and profit to the reader. 

Every question that has arisen in a large correspondence, of a number ot 
years, in regard to the growing of fruits, will be found answered, I think, in the 
following pages. 

INDEX. 



Page. 

APPI-ES 23 

APRICOTS 31 

ASPARAGUS 33 

BLACKBERRIES U 

CHERRIES 31 

CURRANTS 15 

FIGS 33 



FRUIT TREES... 
GOOSEBERRIES. 



GRA PES 17 

NECTARINES 31 

PEACHES 29 

PEARS 26 

PLUMS 30 

QUINCES ...32 

RASPBERRIES 9 

RHUBARB 38 

STR A W B ERRI ES i 



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^^ Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year i88o, by U. H. H.A.INES 
•^ In the o£9ce ol the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 






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THIS delicious frait {Fragaria, of the Latin, or F}-aisici; of the French) is the 
most widely cultivated in this countiy of any of the berries. From Maine 
to Mississippi or Texas in the South, and in California and other States on the 
Pacific, the traveller meets with plots of from two to fifty acres, yielding many a rich 
repast of this wholesome and favorite berry. In many other portions of the world the 
strawberry finds a home, and for ages past has it delighted kings and peasants with its 
rich aroma and delicacy of flavor ; while bards and poets seem never to tire of singing 
the praises of " strawberries and cream." 

The ease with which the fruit can be grown, and the adaptation of the plants to 
widely diiferent soils, enable those possessing even the smallest gardens to share in its 
rich treasures, as a little plot of land only twenty or thirty feet square will furnish many 
a heaping fruit-dish of ripe, blushing strawberries. Nor are the pleasures derived from 
strawberries to be limited merely to the season of ripening, as in the form of syrups, pre- 
serves, tarts and ices, they prove a welcome addition to the dessert-table at nearly all 
times of the year. 

SOILS. 

Almost any soil, that is not water-soaked, will answer for strawberries. A good, 
deep, moist loam or gravelly soil is perhaps the best for growing the berries in their 
greatest perfection; but there are probably many more acres of strawberries grown on 
sandy soils than on any other kind of land. Much is sometimes said about the neces- 
sity of drainage. It is a decided oenefit sometimes, and at others is entirely unneces- 
sary. Let no one imagine that they mu>t be deprived of the enjoyment to be obtained 
from this fruit, because they do not care to go to the expense or trouble of draining 
their gardens. In growing for profit on flat or heavy lands, it may sometimes be neces- 
sary ; but, usually, if the soil is thin, it can be deepened by trenching, or by the use of a 
subsoil plow, and if low it can be surface-drained by making shallow ditches, or by 
deepening the paths between the different beds. 

Whou linuer-draiiiing' is decided upon, then a drain may be made with stones, 
or with boards leaning against each other like the two sides of a roof ; or with regular 
draining tiles of clay. If the soil is sandy through which the drain is to run, then round 
tiles may be used, or, on loamy soils, half tiles (horse-shoe shaped) may be placed on 
strips of boards. On very hard clay soils the half tiles may be used without boards. 
Though, if the expense is no special object, then the complete tiles are, perhaps, the 
best in the end. In many localities it is much cheaper to use draining tiles than to 
spend the extra time that is necessary in digging the wider ditches that are required for 
stone drains. Tile drains should be placed out of reach of frost — usually from two and 
a half to four feet below the surface, and should have a gradual slope towards their 
outlet. 

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 

As strawberries are usually placed on land that has been devoted the previous year 
to corn, or other hoed crops, or to vegetables, there is, of course, considerable manuro 
or plant food still remaining in the soil. Potatoes are thought to exhaust much that is 
required by tlie strawbeny; but if wood ashes are well worked into the soil with the 
usual quantity of manure, then good crops can be obtained. A decomposed sod fur- 
nishes plant food in large cjuantities, and by plowing grass lands the previous spring, 
and growing a crop of corn on the reversed sod, the land may be put into an excellent 
state for planting. Grass lands may often be made ready for planting in October, if 
plowed in July or early in August; or, for spring planting, by turning under the sod 
early in the previous fall. 

When it can be so arranged, it is better to make new plantations of strawberries 
upon ground where they have not been grown for several years, as it is difficult to put 
back into the soil the necessary fertilizers that have been exhausted. If possible, three 
or four years should elapse before planting in the same place, though it is possible to get 
good crops by merely waiting one year. On most soils good cow manure is the best fer- 
tilizer that can be applied. Fresh stable manure sometimes proves injurious on sandy 

1 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

soils, but is good on heavy soils, and usually on lighter soils when well rotted. On very 
rich soils it is better to use some of the concentrated manures, if the plants are to be 
stimulated, as some varieties make too much foliage. Vox this purpose bone-dust, scat- 
tered broadcast and worked into the soil before planting or when cultivating, proves one 
of the best substitutes. 

A cheap and excellent combination of fertilizers for most soils, is a mixture of about 
400 pounds each of ground bone, wood ashes, muck and marl to the acre. It is some- 
times thought to be an advantage to allow it to remain mixed in a heap with some soil 
for a week or two before using. If marl cannot be easily obtained, then an extra quan- 
tity of ashes will do nearly as well. \Vhen other manures are used, then a le.-,s quantity 
of bone-dust can be used. Soil from the woods, leaf-mould, rotted turfs, hen manure, 
guano, superphosphate, and most of the concentrated fertilizers are good, either applied 
singly, or together, or when made into a compost. Different rows, or different beds may 
be treated in different ways, thus affording subjects for experimenting. Often, and usu- 
ally, a single kind of manure is sufficient to obtain good crops ; but I have mentioned 
all the above, as it is sometimes easier and cheaper for some persons to use some of 
them than others. Hen manure, if used, should be used sparingly, or well intermixed 
with the soil. At times it is almost as strong as guano. Lime and salt are usually 
thought to be an injury to the strawberry. For further suggestions, the reader is referred 
to this same subject under the head of Raspberries. 

PREPARING THE GROUND. 

The ground should be spaded or plowed at least six inches deep ; v/hile sometimes 
it is spaded or trenched to twice or three times that depth. By having the plow take 
narrow slices, the manure will be thrown on the shoulder of the preceding furrow, and 
thus well intermixed, instead of being placed out of reach of the plants at the bottom of 
a deep furrow. In spading, the same precaution c9k\ be taken to throw the soil up 
against the preceding spadeful. When manure or fertilizers are scarce at time of plant- 
ing, then they may be placed in the bottom of the furrov/s or holes where the plants are 
to be set out — say from four to six inches from the surface. This will give them a good 
start. The ground should be harrowed or raked before planting. 

When ])lants arrive, the strings inclosing the bundles should be at once loosened 
to prevent heating, and the roots dipped in water. If the plants are wilted or roots very 
dry, then they can often be revived by keeping the roots in luke-warm water for from 
■one to twelve hours. When the ground is not ready for planting, the plants should be 
•placed in the cellar, or out of reach of frost and winds, and with their 7vots surrounded 
with wet moss or grass. If necessary, they can sometimes be kept fresh a week in this 
manner. This same treatment applies also to all the other fruit plants. 

DIRECTIONS FOB PLANTING STRAWBERRIES— If the roots are very 
long or wilted at the ends, they may be cut off with a knife, hatchet or shears, to within 
from four to six inches of the crowns of the plants. In the autumn or fall this may be 
omitted; it is not neccssaiy at any time, though sometimes a benefit in the spring. The 
quickest method and an excellent way when planting largely, is to open furrows with a 
plow at the proper distances, and then, holding the plant with the left hand against the 
fetraight side of the furrow, fill in some soil against the roots with the other hand, or 
v/ith a hoe or trowel. An assistant might then press the soil firmly with his foot 
against the roots, if not too wet, and afterwards fill up the furrow, level, or nearly level, 
with the surface, again " firming it " lightly. 

A somewhat similar method for the garden, is to open holes with a spade at the re- 
quired distances, with the back of the spade against a garden line, and planting as be- 
fore, spreading the roots like a fan if possible. If planting in a hot sun or when exposed 
to drying winds, the plants should be kept in pails, boxes or lined baskets, and roots 
kept moist. The roots are sometimes dried more in ten minutes in the open air, than in 
going 2,000 miles through the mails. Some persons prefer to dip the roots in a puddle 
made of clayish soil or muck, when received, also when planting. 

Another method for planting, is to push the spade (or trowel) down into the soil, and 
then by pushing it forward, insert the roots behind the spade without withdrawing it. 
This is an excellent way when planting in summer or in very dry weather. If the soil is 
very dry, a pint or two of water may be poured into the cavity. River or rain water, or 
water that has been drawn and exposed to the air for some hours, is better than cold 
spring water. Next run the spade or trowel down into the soil, about an inch further 
out, and pry the soil back into place against the roots, and level off the ground. 
2 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

A fourth method is to dig a hole with a trowel, and after making a little mound in 
the bottom of the hole, spread the roots around upon it. Next fill in part of the soil, 
and if very dry pour in some water. A little well rotted manure (not strong fertilizer^), 
if placed in the hole before filling up, will often give the plants a good start. Before 
finishing, if not too wet, press the soil firmly with a trowel, or moderately firm with the 
foot, and leave the last half inch of soil loose, so as better lo catch the rain or dew, and to 
prevent the soil from baking. The mound in the bottom may be omitted if time is 
limited. 

DISTANCES FOR PLANTING,— The " hill " system is the favorite method in 
garden culture, except where the soil is very light and sandy, or overrun with grubs. It 
merely consists in keeping all runners cut off, thus keeping each plant separate by itself. 
In garden culture, where the space is limited, the rows may be made either a foot and a 
half or two feet apart, with plants either eight, twelve, fifteen or eighteen inches apart in 
the rows. A space two or three feet wide may be left between every three, or four, or five 
rows, to be used as a walk, or as a dividing line, or as a surface drain. If for the last pur- 
pose, it will want to be lower than the rest of the bed. The nearer the rows are to each 
otlier, the less mulching will be required. These different distances will give opportuni- 
ties for experimenting, and all of them might be tried to see which will give the best sat- 
isfaction on the soils of each cultivator. Usually, the largest berries are obtained from 
plants grown by the "hill" system, with the rows two or three feet apart, and plants 
fifteen inches apart, though more berries are often obtained by planting nearer together. 

In field culture, the "hill" system is usually followed if the soil is heavy or of a 
clayey nature. The rows are then made either two and a half or three feet apart, usually 
three feet, when about 14,500 plants are required to the acre. If the garden plot is large, 
and can be arranged so as to permit of horse power, then I would also recommend this 
same distance of three feet between the rows. Berries usually are sweeter, and ripen 
more evenly when grown by the " hill " system, as they are more exposed to the smi and 
air, than when grown in ' matted " ro\»'S. 

The " matted" row system consists in having the rows either three, four or five feet 
apart, and allowing the runners to take root on both sides of the parent plants. It is 
followed almost entirely in field culture where the soil is sandy, and frequently on grav- 
elly soils and upon easily worked loams. The plants may be set out at twelve or 
eighteen inches apart, and the rows being more widely separated require less plants to 
the acre than by the " hill " system. A '' partially matted row " system, is to allow only 
four or six runners to take root from each plant, cutting off the rest. Excellent crops 
of fine berries can usually be obtained in this way. 

Another method, called the "matted hill system," is to mark off the land both ways, 
as if for corn, placing one or two plants at every crossing, which may be either three or 
four feet from each other. Run the cultivator lengthways and also across the row during 
the season, fastening in the first runners by hand if necessary, and narrowing the culti- 
vator as the " matted hills " become larger. This method requires little hoeing, and 
gives excellent crops. In gardens, smaller " matted hills " may be made by planting 
three or four plants together every two, or two and a half feet, or planting one plant and 
allowing it to make three or four runners. 

Another plan for garden or field culture, is to place a plant every two feet, with rows 
two feet apart, and to cultivate both ways, keeping all runners cut off. It is sometimes 
surprising to see what a vigorous growth, and what immense crops of large berries, a 
single plant will give when allowed plenty of room and well cultivated. All of the 
above plans will give good results, and they each have their supporters among different 
fruit growers or amateurs. 

At the South, in garden culture, I am inclined to believe that where the hill system 
can be practiced, that excellent results will follow having the rows fifteen or eighteen, 
or twenty-four inches apart, as the foliage of the plants will then nearly cover and shade 
the ground, and less mulching will be required between the rows. The "hill system" is 
probably, also, usually preferable in gardens at the North, even on light sandy soils, 
provided the plants are kept well mulched. It will be seen that there is here an ample 
field for experimenting, with its accompanying change of thought and recreation for bus- 
iness or professional men. During the first year, crops of lettuce, dwarf peas, bush beans, 
spinach, &c., may be raised between the rows in gardens where the hill system is fol- 
lowed, and where space is limited. 

HERMAPHRODITE AND PISTILLATE YARIETIES.— The first have 
perfect blossoms, and are easily distinguished from the others, at time of blossoming, by 

3 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

the long yellow anthers that protrude from among the pistils. In the pistillate or imper^ 
yiY/" blossomed varieties, only the pistils arc visible, appearing closely packed together and 
of the appearance of a very small strawbeny. The hermaphrodite varieties, having per- 
fect blossoms, produce full crops wiihout other assistance. The pistillates are among 
some of the most productive varieties, but require a bed, or one or two rows of hermaph- 
rodites to be planted within from fifteen to thirty feet of them, if good crops are de- 
sired. Varieties blossoming about the same time should usually be selected to fertilize 
each other. The Wilsons and Monarchs, blossoming early and continuing late, usually 
do well. 

TO PREVENT MIXING OF STRAWBERRIES.— Varieties only become 
mixed from the runners intermingling so that the plants cannot be distinguished, or from 
young plants springing up from seeds. This last, however, seldom happens, and when 
it does, the young plants are usually the same. The intermingling of runners may be 
prevented by having the different kinds in rows fi^ or six feet apart, and by keeping the 
cultivator running occasionally during the summer. Anotlier way is to have the different 
kinds eight or ten feet apart. In the " hill system," where the runners are kept cut, 
there is of course no danger of their intermingling, even if the rows are only two or three 
feet apart. When two or more kinds are planted in the same matted row, then the 
runners may be kept cut from the plants that join, or may be turned away from each 
other, or a vacancy of a few feet may be left in the row between the different kinds. 
W^hen understood, it is a matter that can be easily arranged. 

CUTTING OFF BLOSSOMS.— Most fruit growers, and especially those who 
grow fruit for market, make a practice of cutting off all the blossoms from newly set 
plants, as, when left on, it prevents their making as strong a growth for the main crop of 
the second year. If any are permitted to remain, it is only upon a few of the strongest 
plants, and then usually only a single stem or blossom is saved as a sample; though usu- 
ally the largest specimen berries cannot be obtained except from plants that have been 
set out at least six or eight months. In gardens where the fruit is wanted, the blossoms 
may be left on all except the smallest plants, but if planted late in April, or in May or 
Tune, the grower will do much better to cut ofT all except an occasional fruit stem. 

CULTITATION. — Strawberries should be hoed or cultivated at least three times 
the first year; once in May, once in July, and again in August. If it can be done every 
two or three weeks from early in April until October, then a much stronger growth can 
be obtained. In the end it is about as easy to cultivate or hoe the ground /m/uentfy, as 
to do so only a few times in the season, as more weeds can usually be killed in an hour, 
when they are only quarter of an inch high, than in three hours when six inches high 
and wedged in among the plants. When the hoe or pronged hoe is used, the soil should 
at times be loosened or stirred to a depth of from four to six inches, except close in 
among the roots, when an inch or two in depth is sufficient. The use of a small plow is 
also of great advantage in keeping the soil well stirred. Even in the "hill system " the 
ground should be kept level, not hilled up around the plants. 

When using the "matted row" system, the cultivator should always be run in the 
same direction, after the runners appear, one or two paths north, and the next one or 
two towards the south, etc., and should be narrowed each succeeding time as the plants 
spread, until only a path a foot wide is left. A solid bed of plants, three or four feet wide, 
will thus be formed, quicker and easier than if the young plants are disturbed by pulling 
round the runners in opposite directions. When following the " matted hill" system, it 
is also well to drive always in the .same direction for the same paths after the runners 
appear, and to narrow the cultivator as the " matted hill" becomes larger. 

DRIVING AWAY THE GRUB The strawberry grub is a whitish worm, about an 

inch long and quarter of an inch thick, that sometimes proves quite destructive by feeding 
upon the roots of strawberries, and causing the plants to wilt and die. Where they are quite 
thick, it is usual to grow the plants by the " matted row " system, and to allow the young 
plants to send out runners, and thus fill up any vacancies. If common salt is sown 
broadcast at the rate of three or four bushels to the acre, or one or two quarts to a rod, 
and well mixed with the soil a week or two before planting, it will often drive them 
away. The same quantity might be applied in a liquid form to hasten the effect, if in a 
time of drouth. 

Another method is to dip the roots in a strong solution of Paris green (a poison) just 
before planting, if the grubs are thought to be prevalent. Still another plan, said to be 

4 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

effective in France, is to scatter chloride of lime or a solution around the plants. Soot 
cr wood ashes, or land plaster, or muriate of potash, will perhaps drive them away, but 
the ashes and potash should be used with caution on sandy soils. Boards laid upon the 
ground will attract many kinds of grubs, and possibly this variety also. Ground moles 
are excellent for ridding a plot of grubs, and if the soil is finned around the plants after 
being disturbed, will do little injury; toads will possibly assist. Or the parent May- 
beetle may be destroyed at night in the same way as the codling-moth. Many gardens 
are free from this grub, and in others only occasionally do we hear of them. Ploughing 
the land very late in the fall is thought to destroy many of them. When a plant wills, 
the grub can often be found at the roots or near by, by digging down at one side. 
Sprinkling the plant and ground witli a solution of chloride of lime or land plaster would 
probably be the next speediest method to employ. Possibly a solution of whale oil soap 
would also be effective. 

WATERING IN A DROUTH — One good watering, once or twice a week, in the 
morning or evening, is better than ten times as often if improperly done. The proper 
way to do is to draw away a lit'Je of the soil from one side, or from around the plant, 
and allow a pint or more of water to soak in well around the roots. Afterwards replace 
the dry soil that was removed, and there will be no complaints about the ground bak- 
ing, while the soil underneath will keep moist for some davs longer, on account of the 
mulching of dry or loose earth on top. A slight watering on the surface often seems to 
have the effect of burning up or dwarfing the plants. Old fruit or tomato cans, with a 
small hole in the bottom, and sunk a Utile ways into the soil at one side of a plant, and 
filled occasionally with water, are excellent for giving a steady supply of moisture. 

MULCHING STRAWBERRIES This should be done a month or two before 

the time of fruiting, in order to keep the green or ripe berries from being spattered, dur- 
ing rain slorms, with sand or mud. It also assists in retaining moisture in the soil, and, 
consequently, in obtaining much larger berries. Under this same heading in Raspber- 
ries, directions are given for mulching; also suggestions as to what materials to use. Tan- 
bark or saw-dust (if rolted) can be used, but should be gathered up after the fruiting 
season, unless on clayey soils. Boards, with or without other mulching, are excellent for 
keeping the soil moist, and also from getting hardened during the picking season. 

At the extreme south the mulching should be placed around the plants earlier in the 
season, and kept on during the summer, changing it from one path to another, if any 
cultivation is performed. If a few young planls are wanted, then the runners may be 
allowed to take root in an occasional vacant path. 

GROWING- LARGE BERRIES Much, of course, depends upon the variety ; 

but, having selected the right kinds, it is not difficult to greatly improve over the ordi- 
nary ways followed. Apply well-rotted barnyard manure fiom one to three inches 
thick, and have the ground spaded or plowed deeply — even twelve or eighteen inches 
if the soil is good, and in a way to thoroughly mix the manure with the soil. A quart 
or two of bone-dust or other fertilizer to each square rod may afterwards be spread 
broadcast, and mixed six inches down, but is not necessary. Cultivate or hoe frequently 
during the spring and summer, keeping the runners closely cut. Give winter protection, 
and hoe or dig the ground three or four inches deep previous to time of blossoming in 
spring. In May, mulch the plants well, and a rich reward will duly appear. 

Extra-sized berries can also be often obtained by leaving only one-fourth or one-half . 
of the fruit stems to each plant, and clipping out a number of the inferior berries on 
each stalk. Old fruit cans, arranged to let the water out slowly, will help to swell the 
fruit to large proportions, if placed near the plants, and frequently filled with water. 
Half a teaspoonful of ammonia (hartshorn) may be added with benefit to each quart of 
water when watering. If, in November, the ground between the plants is covered 
thickly with rotted manure, before giving winter protection, it will greatly add to the 
quantity and size of the berries. Thinning out the fruit stalks or berries is seldom 
practiced. 

WINTER PROTECTION.— In the fall, just before the ground commences to 
freeze, or within two or three weeks afterwards, strawberry plants should be mulched or 
covered with some coarse material, to prevent them from alternate freezing and thawing 
during the winter or spring. Rye or wheat straw, or course manure, are most generally 
employed for this purpose, spreading about one inch thick. In this latitude, a cheap 
and excellent covering for narrow rows is to cover with from one to three inches of soil, 

6 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

Evergreen boughs, pine needles, salt or marsh hay, or other coarse material that will not 
pack closely and smother the plants, are all good. 

A mulching of corn-stalks, placed crosswise, will answer. If the ground is first cov- 
ered with rotted manure, great benefit will usually be obtained. It may be lightly dug 
under ip spring. Leaves sometimes smother the plants. Many persons use them, how- 
ever, adding an inch of soil to keep them in place. Scattered thinly over matted rows, 
and with a vety Utile soil scattered here and there over them, is a better way to employ 
them. 

If the mulching material of straw, etc., is applied at the commencement of a rain or 
snow storm, it will seldom need any poles to keep it from blowing off. Another method 
of mulching is to sow oats thickly over the beds about September 1st, and allow the 
straw to fall down and cover the plants. Most growers allow the mulch of coarse 
manure, straw% salt hay orpine needles to be left on until after fruiting, merely removing 
the mulch from over the crowns of the plants in the spring, if too thick. Coarse manure 
becomes bleached by that time, and is sufticiently clean. In removing the mulch, wait 
until about the time that the ground ceases to freeze and thaw. 

CULTIYATION 'THE SECOND TEAR.— When the time can be given, I prefer 
to have the mulching removed, early in April, from all except the matted rows. If 
plants are covered with leaves, soil, corn-stalks or evergreen boughs, it must, of course, 
be done. After hoeing or spading the ground from two to three inches deep, it may be 
again placed around ihe plants and in the paths. The soil should not be disturbed 
while very wet, nor after the plants are in blossom. The paths between the matted 
rows may also be spaded at this time, and be mulched again some weeks before fruiting. 
Though I consider it to be an advantage to give shallow cultivation occasionally in the 
spring, yet, if entirely dispensed with, good crops may still be obtained. 

PICKING AND MARKETING STRAWBERRIES.— The fruit will keep in 

much better condition, and sell at higher figures, if carefully picked with half an inch 
of the stem attached. The stem and "hulls" allow the air to circulate more freely 
among the berries. In the New York markets the berries are usually sold in quart 
baskets that are packed in 32-quart, well-ventilated crates. Pint baskets are also fre- 
quently used. Pickers are usually paid from one to two cents a quart, in money or 
tickets, and if an extra quarter cent or half cent per quart is promised them for all that 
they will have picked, if they remain to the end of the berry season, then stampedes, 
which are common in some localities, may usually be avoided. 

UTILIZING THE CAT.— There is a saying, that " he who makes two blades of 
grass to grow where only one grew before, is a public benefactor," and if a spirit of in- 
dustry can be infused into this hitherto indolent creature, and agriculture thereby bene- 
fited, then the world will be so much the gainer. In this educating of the cat in useful- 
ness, the following plan is sometimes followed, when birds are making too vigorous in- 
roads upon the berries : A wire is stretched about a foot high along one side, or between 
two strawberry beds, and the cat fastened to this wire, by means of a collar and key-ring. 
Being attracted by the birds, it keeps moving from one end of the bed to the other, thus 
frightening them away, if not set to guard too large a space. 

Though most birds usually do more good than harm in a fruit garden, yet, in some 
localities, the fruit grower in self-defense is obliged to drive them off with a shot-gun, or 
in some other w ay. A method, said to be effective in dazzling the birds and in frighten- 
in-T them off, is to take strips of blue and scarlet calico or flannel, one and a half feet long, 
and occasionally fasten one of each color, a foot from each other, to a line stretched six 
feet above the ground. 

Another method to drive away the birds, is to fasten two common square looking- 
glasses, back to back, and suspend them from a bent pole in the middle of the field or 
garden. The birds cannot comprehend it, as it revolves and flashes its light all over the 
field. Another plan is to suspend small strips of bright tin to a long line. Still another 
way is to stretch fine brown, or white, or gray linen thread or silk, and support it two 
inches above the ground, on little stakes ; or wind it around raspberry bushes, or other 
plants or trees where the fruit is being eaten. There is something mysterious in the in- 
visible threads that they do not readily comprehend. However, these methods will sel- 
dom have to be resorted to. 

AN EXPERIMENT IN DRY SEASONS.— Those who have tried it say, that the 
size of the berries can be greatly increased by covering the entire bed with two or three 
6 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

inches of straw or coarse meadow hay, at time of fruiting. Remove it to another part of 
the bed after the second or third day, and allow the berries to ripen in the sun. This 
extra mulching may be thus kept doing double duty on every alternate day. Irrigation 
is often employed to advantage ; also, watering by hand, or from carts arranged to dis- 
tribute the water over the rows. 

TREATxlIENT OF PLANTS AFTER FRUITING.— Plants grown in "matted 
rows " are usually allowed only to bear one crop, and are then plowed under, and the 
ground at once planted with tomatoes or winter cabbages, or sown with turnip seed, 
sweet corn, buckwheat or other grain. When this is the custom, a new plot of strawber- 
ries is made each spring. Sometimes, when the weeds are not very bad, the beds may 
be cleaned up, and the paths spaded or plowed, and occasionally cultivated during the 
season. A top-dressing ot fine manure, bonedust, or other fertilizer, should be given in 
such cases. Another way is to mow down all except a naiTow strip in each matted row, 
rake off the foliage, and plow or spade up all except the strips that have been left — first 
manuring the ground if possible. New runners will soon appear, and, by using the cul- 
tivator, as in the preceding year, new "matted rows " will be formed. 

Old beds grown by the " hill system " are more easily managed. Apply manure or 
fertilizers, plow or spade up the soil, hoe out the weeds, and loosen the soil in among 
the plants. Cultivate afterwards the same as the first year. I do not recommend cut- 
ting off the foliage, except in wet seasons; however, if the leaves on the south half of 
each plant are left a par ial shade will yet remain. An inch or two of fresh soil from 
the paths or elsewhere, is a decided benefit if placed around the plants. By filling up 
the paths each fall with an inch or two of manure, and by cleaning out the beds imme- 
diately after fruiting, plants grown "in hills " and given good cultivation, will often give 
fine crops for from three to six years. 

" Matted hills " may be renewed by spading or plowing up all except one corner or 
the center of each hill. Beds growing broadcast can be made to produce good crops, by 
spading up all except narrow strips of the youngest plants, and by \vorking in plenty of 
fine manure, or hen manure, etc., among the plants. As plants "runout," or usu- 
ally lose their vigor after being planted in the same place for three or four years, it 
is accordingly best to obtain a fresh supply from outside or distant parties every few 
years. 

SUMMER PLANTING.— When planting in the summer or fall, or in the warmer 
days of spring, it is usually necessary to shade the plants for a few days, until they get 
well started. For this purpose boxes, boards, flower pots, newspapers, straw (cut or long), 
dock, cabbage or other large leaves, may be used. Watering the plants should not be 
neglected if the soil is dry. If "pot-grown plants" are used, they should always be 
watered well when dry, either before or after planting. Frequent cultivation is es- 
pecially appreciated by summer planted strawberries, and causes them to grow with 
great vigor. 

FALL PL.\NTING. — This is often practiced in the months of September, October 
and November, or until the ground becomes frozen. Even in December, I have sent 
many thousands of plants to the southern States. The same methods are to be employed 
in preparing the ground, and in planting, as at other seasons. When planting in No- 
vember, in freezing weather, I have usually met with the best success when the plants 
were covered the same day with an inch or two of soil. The other mulching materials 
may also be used in giving winter protection. 

TO DESTROY STRAWBERRY WORMS--These feed upon the leaves in some 
sections of tlie country, causing them to shrivel or curl, and to dry up. They are easily 
destroyed, when they appear, by sprinkling the plants, after the fruiting season, with a 
solution of Paris green (a poison) once a week for three or four weeks. The solution is 
made of one or two teaspoonfuls of the dry Paris green to two or three gallons of water. 
It may also be mixed wiih flour and dusted over the plants when wet with rain or dew. 
Another plan is to burn dry straw over the plants, scattering it just thick enough to bum 
the leaves, but not the crowns. 

YIELD AND PROFITS.— Upon selecting the best or most suitable varieties, de- 
pends much of the success of fruit growing. A hundred bushels, or a thousand quarts of 
large berries like the Monarch, Sharpless or Boyden. sometimes bring as much as three 
times that quantity of commoner or inferior berries, besides the saving in cost of picking 

7 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

baskets, freight charge and commis^sion. From two hundred to four hundred bushels of 
berries are sometimes obtained from an acre, though a more common yield is from fifty 
to one hundred bushels. The total cost of plants, cultivation, picking, etc., etc., is 
usually from $75 to $100 per acre. It would only require about twenty bushels of nice 
berries at fifteen cents a quart, or thirty bushels at ten cents a quart, to pay the expenses, 
leaving the rest for profit. To ot)tain an extra yield of fruit, an extra sum is sometimes 
expended, but giving an increased profit. 

In the way of profits, I can mention a case in which $110 worth of Jucunda berries 
were sold from one-eighth of an acre. Of another in which the crop of Boydens was 
sold at the rate of over $1,500 per acre. Two ladies in Centralia, Illinois, are said to 
have raised and sold nearly $850 worth of berries from an acre and a quarter of land. 
A gentleman in this State succeeded in getting one hundred and fifty bushels of berries 
from half an acre, selling them for $500. These instances are the exceptions and not the 
average, but they show what are the capabilities of the strawberiy when good and suit- 
able varieties are selected, and everything is favorable. 

TO HASTEN THE TI3IE OF RIPENINCi.— Early berries sometimes bring the 
best prices. If early varieties are planted on the south side of a thick hedge, or of a 
close fence or wall, it is possible to get fruit some days earlier than otherwise. The 
southern slopes of a hill, or of an artificial ridge made two or three feet high, are also 
favorable. If planted on northern slopes, or in thickly matted rows, or on clay soils, 
their time of ripening can be retarded. On light or sandy soils, if not too rich, they 
will ripen early, whether " in hills" or "matted rows." A few quarts of quite early 
berries may be obtained by placing a hot-bed frame and glass over some early varieties in 
the garden. This should be done very early in spring, or at the close of winter, if tried. 
Keep well covered with old carpets, straw or matting when the nights are cold. 
Give air on warm days. Even without the glass, by covering the frame at night, early 
berries may be obtained. 

TO INCREASE THE YIELD AND FRUITFULNESS.— It is said that if 
strawberry plants are sprinkled every night, while blossoming, with a solution made of 
one-quarter of a pound each of ammonia and common nitre (probably crystals) dissolved 
or mixed in two barrels of rain water, that the size and quantity of fruit will be greatly 
increased. 

STRAWBERRIES AT THE SOUTH The Monarch of the West, Captain Jack, 

Wilsons and Charles Downing all do well in the Gulf States; also, Sharpless, Boyden 
No. 30, Kentucky, Duchesse, Crescent Seedling, Cumberland, Triumphe, etc., in many of 
the same States and in other localities at the south. Favorable reports from correspond- 
ents in those States are also reaching me of many of the newer varieties. Probably 
many of the other older varieties would also succeed, if planted in the partial shade of 
trees or fences. Strawberries at the north usually do best where fully exposed to the 
sun, but good crops can also be obtained in orchards where the shade is not too thick. 
Good drainage, either natural or artificial, is especially important at the south, to prevent 
the soil from baking too hard, and the plants from burning up. 

RIPENING OR COLORING HERRIES Occasionally it is desired to color 

berries that, from some cause, have only partially colored. The simplest plan is to sup- 
jiort the fruit stalks four inches above the ground by means of stout wire. The ends of 
the wire may be driven into the ground, while the rest of the wire may be bent to fit 
half around the plant and to support the fruit. Barrel hoops or other materials may also 
be used to raise the berries from the^round, and thus to give them sunlight. 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 



wm 



d)9 



UNDER the name of Riibus {Franiboisia; of the French) may be found three 
distinct divisions into which all the different varieties of this fruit may be 
classed. Among the European varieties {Riibus Idu:us) are found the Clarke, 
Brinckle's Orange, Franconia, &c. The plants of this class are of an upright habit of 
growth, with the bristles on the canes mostly straight and slender, and producing plants 
from sprouts coming up from the roots. The American red varieties (Rubtis strigosiis) 
are of very similar habits of growth, being also propagated from suckers, and having 
usually a larger supply of bristles on the canes. In this class are found the Philadelphia, 
Brandywine, Highland Hardy, &c. Some of the finest of the American varieties are so 
similar to the European as not to be easily distinguishable. In the class Rubtis occiden- 
ialis are found the Gregg, Davidson's Thornless, and the rest of the black varieties. 
Yellow varieties, like the Caroline and Florence, that are propagated by the tips of the 
canes taking root in the soil, and some few red varieties, like the New Rochelle and 
Ganargua, having the same habit of propagation, are also clcsely allied to this class. 

The Raspberry is one of our most popular fruits, and being very easily grown, is des- 
tined to be still more widely planted as the superior qualities of some of the newer sorts 
become more generally known. There are, perhaps, none of the smaller fruits that give 
a larger share of unalloyed enjoyment than does this. Besides the pleasure that the ber- 
ries give in adding to the variety of our tables, either as picked and eaten when fresh 
and sparkling with drops of dew, or, as they come icy cold from the refrigerator or ice- 
house during the hot days of summer, they are also said to be especially beneficial to 
those who are suffering from rheumatism or gout, as they seem to be possessed of con- 
siderable medicinal properties. The mild acid of the fruit is not very liable to undergo 
fermentation in the stomach, and, consequently, proves an agreeable and healthful fruit 
to nearly all who use it in moderate quantities. In the form of raspberry vinegar or 
syrup, or in the making of preserves, tarts, ices, and jellies, the fruit proves, also, ex- 
ceedingly welcome at other seasons of the year. 

SOILS. — Though the raspberry can be grown on almost any soil, yet to grow the 
berries in their greatest perfection, it is well, when practicable, to select such soils as are 
best adapted to the plants. A rich, gravelly soil, or a good moist loam, are perhaps 
most generally acceptable to the raspberry. The plants also do well on sandy loams, 
especially if deep, and will ripen their fruit some days earlier on such soils. It is not 
advisable to plant the red varieties on hard clay lands, as only moderate crops can thus 
be obtained; nor should they be planted on low, wet soils that are under water in win- 
ter. The black varieties, or the Rubus occidentalis family, however, are more easily 
suited, and give good crops (but not the best) even on hard clay or wet soils. 

PLANTING AT THE SOUTH.-Light, sandy loams should be avoided in plant- 
ing this fruit in the extreme southern States, unless where there is a clay subsoil within 
two or three feet of the surface, to assist in retaining the moisture. Nearly all of the 
black caps, and many of the red and yellow varieties of the same family, do well even 
among the most distant of the Gulf States. Of the older red varieties the Turner 
(Southern Thornless) seems to withstand the hot summers of the south quite well, and 
to be generally acceptable. Herstine, Brandywine, and Cuthbert succeed in many of the 
southern States, but Pride of the Hudson and Highland Hardy require a colder climate. 
Probably a number of the other newer red varieties would be found to succeed if given 
a trial. 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR PLANTING.— Though raspberries can be 
planted on new land or on sod land after the sod has been turned under, yet a plot that 
has previously been occupied by hoed crops or grain is more desirable and can be 
easier worked. In planting largely it is usual to run a plow eight or ten inches deep, 
and to scatter the manure along in the furrows. The roots of the plants should be kept 
damp while planting, keeping the greater number of the plants covered in a box, wagon, 
or wheelbarrow until needed. The soil can be quickly and easily pulled back into the 
furrows, in covering the roots, by using a hoe or running a small plow. When planting 
La limited quantities, then the manure can be spread broadcast before spading or plow- 

9 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

ing the ground, retaining a portion of the fertilizer for placing above or below the roots 
of the plants. When using a spade make the holes sufficiently large to allow the roots 
to be spread out, and place the plants about as deep as they originally had been grown. 
Unless the soil is wet, it is always well to firm it a little with the foot before tilling in 
the last inch or two of soil. 

This "firming" of the soil should also be performed in setting out all other plants 
or trees, as it greatly assists in retaining the moisture in the soil. In March or April no 
shading is required for any of the hard-wooded plants, and indeed it is seldom needed 
except when planting late in the spring, when the plants are out in leaf. 

After setting out raspberries or blackberries, it is best to cut off the canes within 
from two to six inches of the ground, as a much stronger growth for the next year's 
crop can be obtained in this way. A few scattering plants might be left a foot or two 
high if specimen berries are wanted, though the largest sized samples can seldom be ob- 
tained the first season. In fall planting this cutting back is not necessary, thougli I 
usually consider it to be beneficial. 

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS.— Though old stable manure is, perhaps, the 
best for general use, yet there are quite a number of other fertilizers that can be used to 
good advantage. On clayey loams, or heavy soils, fresh stable manure will help to make 
the soil more friable and easier to cultivate. On light soils or sandy loams good barn- 
yard manure is probably the best, as it is less heating than that from the stable. Decom- 
posed sods and muck are both good for nearly all fruits, and especially if left exposed to 
the action of the frost in a barnyard during the winter. Leaf-mold or soil from the 
woods is also an excellent assistant. Bone-dust or ground bone, or guano or hen manure, 
at the rate of from 500 to 1,000 pounds to the acre, may be applied broadcast, and har- 
rowed in, or placed on the surface before hoeing or cultivating. Wood ashes applied on 
the surface in spring or summer, and afterwards worked in, are excellent for all fruits. 
When stable manure is scarce or high priced, it is cheaper and easier to use some of 
these concentrated fertilizers instead, and even when manure is easily obtained. I think 
I would prefer to use a combination of manure, bone-dust and wood ashes, not mixing 
them, but applyii.^ them either at the same time, or at different times in the season just 
before hoeing or cultivating. Salt, applied broadcast at the rate of from one and a half 
to three bushels per acre, is beneficial. On very rich soils, or on good prairie soils, an 
application of ground bone and wood ashes will probably be all that will usually be re- 
quired. Many of the patent fertilizers are good, but should always be spread broadcast, 
and used either sparingly or around only a few plants, until their properties are well 
understood. The pleasure that will be obtained in experimenting with them, will make 
up for any slight mishaps that may occur. 

HINTS ON CULTIVATION By planting in rows, so as to permit of using 

horse-power in cultivation, it is possible usually to raise fruit at much less expense, as 
more work can be accomplished with a plow or cultivator in an hour or two, than a man 
would complete in two days. The oftener that newly set plants can be hoed or culti- 
vated the first season, the stronger will be their growth, It is very important that a good 
start should be obtained, as a plant that is stunted in its growth the first season seldom 
becomes as vigorous as one that is liberally treated and well cultivated the first year. 
Good cultivation on some soils will almost take the place of manuring. Most fruit 
plants will give good crops if only hoed or cultivated once or twice in a season, but to 
have them grow to perfection, once every three or four weeks is none too often. When 
using a plow around young plants, the soil may first be plowed away from them, and im- 
mediately plowed back again. If in a garden, it may then be smoothed over with a rake 
or hoe. 

In the course of a few weeks, when the weeds commence to grow, the soil may 
be again stirred with a cultivator or hoe, and afterwards hoed, cultivated, or plowed as 
often as desired. Frequently, small weeds can be easily smothered or destroyed by cov- 
ering them with an inch or two of soil, and allowing it to remain for two or three weeks, 
or until the next hoeing. The ground should nearly always be kept as nearly level as 
possible, except where the soil is very wet, or where surface drainage is desired. 

CULTIVATION AFTER THE FIRST SEASON.— In March or April, after the 
weeds commence to grow, the plow may be run between the rows, if the ground is suit- 
able. x\morg raspberries, blackberries, and grape vines, it should be run quite shallow, 
as their roots usually extend nearer the surface of the ground. All weeds or refuse mat- 
ter should then be carefully hoed out from among the plants, and either carried away or 

10 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

scraped into the furrows made by the plow, to be afterwards smothered or covered with 
soil. Tlie plants may then be hoed or cultivated at intervals until in blossom, when all 
cultivation should cease until after the fruit is picked. Currants and gooseberries may 
be cultivated all the second summer, as they do not usually come into bearing much 
until the second or third year after planting. As blackberries do not blossom until after 
raspberries, they can also be cultivated later. On this account it is better, when using 
horse-power in cultivation, to place these different fruits either in separate rows, or in 
parts of the same rows by themselves. However, when not convenient this need not be 
done, as it makes very little difference, especially after the second season. 

SUMMER PRUNING. — The first season only two or three raspberry shoots or 
canes should be allowed to grow up from each hill ; any others should be hoed down the 
same as weeds, where fruit is the object. In June, July and August, or as soon as the 
canes reach a height of from two to three feet, the tops should be pinched off or broken 
off with the thumb and finger. The more vigorous shoots may be allowed to grow to 
even three feet in height, if desired. If this summer pruning should be neglected the 
first year until the canes have grown quite tall, then it is probably best not to cut them 
back quite so far. A knife or shears will sometimes be required where there is much of 
a growth to be taken off. 

This pinching off of the canes causes them to send out lateral shoots, so that nearly 
double the crop can be obtained by doing so. Where these lateral shoots have made a 
growth of a foot from the canes, they can be pinched off, causing them to put out new 
laterals. This second heading back may be deferred until early in spring, when desired. 
When treated in this way the plants become quite strong and stocky, and are enable 
to withstand ordinary winds, and to hold up their fruit without the assistance of stakes. 
After the first year raspberries need not be pinched off until the canes are from three 
to three and a half feet high. Some of the laterals, growing nearly upright, afterwards 
give a height to the plants of from four to five feet, which is high enough. 

WINTER PRUNING. — South of Virginia, this may be performed at almost any 
time during the winter, but where the cold is severe, it is well to defer it until the win- 
ter has passed. All the old canes, or such asliad fruit upon them, should be cut out at this 
pruning, as fruit is only produced on raspberry or blackberry canes of the previous years 
growth. With a pair of pruning shears and thick gloves, this part can be easily done; or a 
short briar hook on a long handle can be used. 

Some persons make a practice of cutting out the old canes in July or August, immedi- 
ately after the fruiting season, but I do not consider it to be advisable, as cutting 
away so much foliage is liable to check the growth of the young canes; while, if left, 
they are also quite a help in assisting the plants to withstand winter winds. In districts 
■where half-hardy varieties require winter protection, the old canes can be cut out, an 1 
the others pruned in October or November, just previous to covering them. Ho a- 
ever, in gardens, where it is desired to keep the plants trim and neat, or where winter 
winds are not feared, then the old canes may be cut out at almost any time without 
serious injury to the plants. 

In pruning the bearing canes in spring, the laterals should be cut back to within about 
a foot of the main stems, or when the tips are frozen, to a point back of where they have 
been winter killed. The frozen canes are usually of a different color from the rest of 
the wood. Frequently I have had my plants pruned as late as the middle of April, 
Avaiting three or four days after the buds have opened, and then pruning off the branches 
just beyond a strong bud. At this pruning any surplus canes may be cut out, if not hoed 
out the previous year when small. 

In hill culture from throe to five canes will usually give more and better fruit 
than if a larger number are allowed to grow. Even when grown in rows it is best to 
keep the rows quite narrow, not over a foot and a half or two feet wide near the ground; 
cutting off or hoeing down all canes coming up in the paths. 

MULCHING RASPBERRIES In many portions of the south it i.; quite difficult 

to grow some of the red varieties, unless well mulched during the summer. Even at the 
north, upon very dry soils or in dry seasons, it is a great assistance in obtaining finer 
berries and larger crops. Any refuse material will answer, such as cut grass, marsh hay, 
straw, corn-stalks, sorghum, course manure, pine needles, leaf mold, leaves, &:c. i o be 
of any special benefit, the mulching should be applied at least two inches thick, and one 
foot wide on each side of the plants: while it is b3tter, if possible, to have it twice as 
thick, and two or three feet wide. Plants that are well mulched require very little culti- 

11 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

vation, sometimes none at all is given them, as the mulching smothers the weeds, and 
keeps the soil moist and friable underneath. Boards, or pieces of boards, placed along 
the rows, or a few large flat stones placed by the plants, sometimes assist greatly in 
keeping the soil moist underneath, and consequently assist in obtaining larger and finer 
berries. 

The raspberry, however, is so easily grown in most parts of the country, that fine crops 
can nearly always be obtained without resorting to mulching. When practiced at the 
south, it should be applied in April or May, and kept on all summer, leaving three or 
four inches of space open around the plants during the early spring, until the new canes 
have come up from the roots. When planting in spring at the south, it is almost a ne- 
cessity to keep the plants well mulched the first season, to enable them to survive their 
first long hot summer. In this State it may be applied in May or June, or even early 
in July, at which time the same mulching can be used that has been placed around the 
strawberries. 

THE RASPBERRY RUST.— The Raspberry is affected by very few diseases, 
and of these the " rust " is about the only one of any importance. By using a little 
watchfulness and care, it can easily be stamped out, but if too long neglected, it will de- 
stroy entire plantations of raspberries and blackberries. The ' ' rwiit" {aregma bulbosum') 
is a bright golden or orange red fungus (sometimes turning black), that forms on the 
under sides of the leaves, causing them to curl or shrivel up. The plants, when affected, 
soon lose their vigor, and become useless for fruiting. 

The surest method to crush out the disease is to at once dig up all the plants affected, 
and burn both root and branch. If removed while the foliage is damp, the " rust " will 
be less likely to shake off and spread to other bushes. No other raspberry or black- 
berry plant should be planted in the same place until nearly a year has elapsed. A top- 
dressing of lime is said to hasten the purification of the ground. 

Another method, that is said to be effectual, is to syringe the leaves and canes with 
lime-water, made of lime dissolved in water; or to apply dry-slacked lime to the under 
side of the leaves when wet. Salt scattered around the plants is also said to be a rem- 
edy; too much would probably kill the plants. Possibly, dissolved in water and ap- 
plied to the leaves, it might benefit, if not too strong. 

Still another method is to apply fresh wood ashes to the under side of the leaves, and 
to scatter it liberally on the ground. Draining the land is said to be an assistance, also 
a partial preventive. 

Having had very little trouble with the rust, I can only mention these as experimental 
methods to be tried in the earliest stages of the disease. The cutting out process I 
know to be effectual. Where only a portion of a plant is affected by the rust, then it 
may prove effectual to cut out such branches, and try some of the above experiments for 
driving the disease out of the plant and from the soil. 

^STAKING RASPBERRIES.— Though stakes are not required if the " pinching- 
in " process is followed, yet. in garden culture, they are sometimes used by those who 
wish their plants to grow close together. One way, that is usually followed, is to drive a 
stake down in each hill, and tie the caaes to it. Another m2thocl is to drive down two 
stakes, one on each side of a hill, and nail a barrel hoop to them, thus enclosing the 
canes. Another method is to drive down a stake every ten or twenty feet, and stretch 
one or two wires on them at a distance of from three to four feet from the ground. A 
fourth plan is to nail a wooden strip to the tops of stakes, at a height of three or 
four feet from the ground, with another strip lower down when desired. 

Any of these plans can be followed with very little trouble and at slight co^t ; liut 
when summer pruning is practiced, or when plants are grown in continuous rows, and cut 
off at from three to three and a half feet from the ground, the stakes are entirely un- 
necessary, and especially if the plants are well mulched, as the mulching will keep the 
fruit from coming into contact with the ground, and from becoming soiled. 

WINTER PROTECTION.— South of Virginia, raspberries or blackberries do not 
require winter protection. Even here there are very few varieties that really need it, as 
a slight freezing of the tips or ends of the branches does no serious harm. In localities 
or gardens that are exposed to severe sweeping winds, or where the plants have not 
properly matured in the fall, there it is often necessary to cover varieties that are usually 
considered nearly hardy. However, quite hardy varieties often give enough finer fruit 
to pay for any little trouble that may be required in covering them. By experimenting 

12 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

with two or three bushes of a kind, it can soon be ascertained ,%whcthcr it is worth the 
while to cover the rest of the plants or not in succeeding winters. Sometimes it is entirely 
unnecessary to do so in some localities, even with what are called half hardy varieties. 
One method of protecting is to tie the canes to stakes, and to bind a little straw around 
them just before winter sets in. Another way is to bind the canes to the ground and 
to cover them with evergreen boughs, or salt hay, or with leaves, old tomato vines, &c., 
thick enough to shade them from the sun. Still another method is to bend the canes to 
the ground, and to cover the tops or the entire canes with from two to four inches of soil. 
This is the favorite way when winter protection is required, and is better than leaving 
refuse material around in the garden, as, if mice are prevalent, such litter affords them 
a very convenient shelter from which to make incursions upon any young fruit trees that 
maj' be near at hand. 

By using a digging fork or weight (small boys will answer), to keep the canes in place, 
it is possible for a man to cover quite a plot in an hour or two. 

When giving winter protection, the plants may be pruned in the fall instead of in the 
spring, as they will then require less covering. They should not be uncovered, in the 
spring, until all danger from cold winds is past, or until about the time that the buds 
commence to swell. Mulching the ground in winter is often practiced, even when the 
canes themselves are not covered. 

TIELD AND PROFITS.— The raspberry is one of the most profitable of fruits to 
grow, and, when suitable kinds are selected, pays very handsomely. In the Boston, 
New York, and Philadelphia markets, good berries frequently sell at 25 cents a quart, at 
which times it is no unusual thing for a good sized one-horse load of berries to sell from 
$100 to $200. The average price of recent years, in New York city, has been from 10 
to 15 cents a quart, or from $3 to $5 per bushel. Sometimes a little lower, and at other 
times considerably higher, for large or early berries. 

The average yield of the red varieties is about 2,000 quarts per acre, or from 50 to 
60 bushels. Black caps range in yield from 50 to 150 bushels to the acre. Some of the 
red varieties have been known to produce at the rate of two or three times these figures. 
The average profits are about $150 peracre; oftener the profits are about $100 per acre; 
but it is no unusual thing to have the fruit sell at from §200 to $400 per acre, and at 
times even higher figures are attained. 

Seldom is a village or town to be found in which there is an over supply of this fruit, 
and as the raspberry is an annual bearer, and an easy fruit to grow, it proves one of the 
best in furnishing a steady income. Where space is limited they can be planted along 
the fences, thus requiring no stakes; or placed in tree rows, where a partial shade is 
often a benefit instead or an objection. A few plants scattered around in the garden, 
and yielding from ten to seventy-five cents worth of fruit per plant, will furnish spend- 
ing money that will no doubt prove acceptable to either the young folks or their elders. 

HOW TO MARKET RASPBERRIES.— The red varieties are usually sold in 
the New York city markets, in little baskets or wooden cups holding one-third of a quart. 
They are, also, often sold in pint baskets, but seldom in quart baskets, as they can be 
transported better, and be kept fresher, in small baskets in which the air can circulate 
freely. The black caps are sold either in pint or quart baskets. The new crates that I 
have been using of late years, owing to their better ventilation, are quite an improve- 
ment over the older styles formerly in use. 

DIRECTIONS FOR OBTAINING A CROP IN THE FALL.— By selecting 
some autumnal bearing variety, like the Belle de Fontenay, it is possible to obtain a fine 
crop during the fall months. Raspberries, at this time of the year, are often sold at 
from 20 to 40 cents a quart in the larger markets, owing to their scarcity. The method 
to be followed is very simple, and consists merely in cutting off all the canes early in 
the spring, at from three to six inches out of the ground, and giving good cultivation or 
mulching during the spring and summer. 

Only the strongest of the new shoots coming up should be left (from four to six canes 
to a hill), and on these a fine crop will be obtained in August, September, or October. 
A smaller crop can be obtained in July, also in the fall, by merely allowing the plants 
to grow naturally like other raspberries, thinning out the smaller canes when too tliick. 

FALL PLANTING OF RASPBERRIES.— As a plantation of red raspberries 
will remain in its prime for six or eight years, and will often continue to yield fair crops 
for fifteen or twenty years, it therefore pays to set them out with care at the commence- 

13 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

ment. When the planting has been omitted in the spring, then it can be performed with 
good success in the fall. 

The usual time for fall planting of raspberries, blackberries, currants, &c., is during 
the months of October and November, though at times I have had plantations made dur- 
ing the first weeks of December, even after the surface of the ground has been frozen 
fully an inch in depth. When planted in early fall, the roots keep growing, even though 
the tops remain dormant. At the south, the advantages to be gained by fall planting, 
are even greater than in this vicinity. 

HOW TO PROTECT FALL SET PLANTS.— The simplest plan is to flatten the 
soil with a hoe just above, or at the side of, each plant, in order to show where they are 
planted, and then the first time that the ground freezes hard enough, to drive on with a 
wagon and throw a forkful of manure over each plant. Many persons consider it an ad- 
vantage to first cut the raspberry or blackberry canes off close to the ground. 

In the following spring a light harrow can then be driven over the field, mixing the 
manure with the soil, and at the same time destroying the weeds until the plants have 
made a good growth. When manure is not very plenty, then only a little, or none at 
all, need be placed around the plants, and the soil heaped up around the canes (which 
may be cut off or not) to the height of from six to ten inches. 

Another method is to place manure around the plants, and after bending the canes 
to the ground, to cover them with from two to six inches of soil. I prefer covering with 
soil, or the " hilling up" method, either with or without manure ; though the manure, 
dissolving in the soil and washing down around the roots, will usually give a splendid 
growth the next year. The first method, with manure alone, is equally as good for black 
caps, or when the canes are cut off close to the ground, and probably at the south for all 
plants set out in the fall ; but, by following any of the above plans, a plant will seldom 
be lost, and a thrifty growth will be nearly always obtained. 



ILACKBEBHi; 



THE blackberry is grown throughout the length and breadth of this country. The 
fruit ripens here in July and August, succeeding most of the varieties of rasp- 
berries. Some of the finer kinds produce berries from an inch to an inch and a 
half long, and prove a great addition to the appearance of the fruit-dish. Their rich, 
pleasant flavor makes them a favorite with nearly every one, and especially when 
brought icy-cold from the refrigerator. 

PLANTING AND CULTIVATION.— Being of a more vigorous growth than the 
raspberry, the rows or hills in which they are planted should be placed a foot or two 
further apart. Very little manure is needed by them after the first year, as they give 
better crops and prove more hardy when the ground is only moderately rich. Hoed 
crops may be planted between the rows the first year or two. The same suggestions, 
given under the head of raspberries, about "soils," "summer and spring pruning," 
" rust," hoeing off of suckers, and " fall planting," apply also to the blackberry, ex- 
cept that, in " summer pruning," the plants need not be " pinched in " quite so close. 

HARDINESS AND WINTER PROTECTION.— Some varieties are sufficiently 
hardy to withstand the winters of New Hampshire and Canada without protection. 
Other varieties are made more hardy by summer pruning, or by omitting, after the second 
year, all cultivation after the time of blossoming; or, if cultivating after the time of 
fruiting, to cultivate at regular intervals every week or two. Cultivating only in the 
spring is the safer method, usually mowing down the weeds or scraping the ground with 
a hoe, when necessary. Later in the season, where it is desired to cover half-hardy 
varieties, the canes may be left unpruned during the summer, so as ♦o obtain a more 
slender growth; or else the soil may be dug away from one side of the plants, and the 
canes more easily bent over and tops covered. 

YIELD AND PROFITS. — Requiring but little manure, and being as easily grown 
as a field of corn, the blackberry proves one of the most profitable of fruits. The yield 
U 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

per acre is usually from sixty to one hundred bushels, though, at times, one hundred and 
fifty bushels have been obtained. The price, in some markets, averages twenty cents 
per quart, and in others, twelve and fifteen cents. Some plantations yield fruit for from 
twenty to thirty years, giving an income of from $100 to $400 per acre. At times, $500 
worth of fruit has been obtained per acre. Berries from the south have, sometimes, sold 
in the Philadelphia and New York markets as high as fifty cents per quart. Blackberries 
do well even in Florida, and in other of the Gulf States. At the north, forty plants 
have been known to yield fully eight bushels of fruit. They will give a nice little in- 
come to children when planted along fences, even if uncultivated after the first year. 
When grown in a grass-sod they often are very hardy, and quite productive. 

MARKETING BLACKBERRIE.S.— The berries are usually sold in New York 
in square quart be ny baskets, packed in 32-quart ventilated crates; seldom in pint 
baskets. 



CUBBANT^ 



THE Currant {Ribes rtibrum) has been grown in the gardens of Holland and En- 
gland for fully a century, and has now become almost a necessary addition to 
every garden. It is one of the easiest of fruits to grow, giving crops even when 
entirely neglected, and yet few fruits repay rich culture so well, under favorable cir- 
camstances. Single globes of the Cherry and Versailles variety have measured an inch, 
and one and a quarter inches around, and those of the Black Naples even larger. 

SOIL AND CULTIVATION The plants do well on nearly all soils, even on a 

heavy clay. If anything, they thrive even better on soils containing a mixture of clay. 
Especially is this the case further south, where they drop their foliage sometimes in early 
summer, when planted on light sandy soils. Summer mulching in such localities would 
probably prevent that. The richer the ground, the heavier will be the crop of berries; 
tlieir size will also be increased. Mulching with any of the materials mentioned under 
the same head in raspberries, or with coal ashes, is excellent, if performed during the 
fruiting season. 

PRUNING AND HARDINESS.— The vigor of the plants may be kept up for 
many years by cutting out all old canes that show signs of failing, and in annually cut- 
ting back or thinning out the young shoots one-third or one-half. This pruning may be 
done in October or November, or during the winter, or before growth commences in 
the spring, and will be found also to add greatly to the size of the fruit, and to the pro- 
ductiveness of the plants. Pruning, however, at the close of winter, I consider to be 
the most satisfactory time. The currant is considered " hardy," and do»s not require 
winter protection. Mulching the ground with coarse manure, and protecting with 
straw or evergreen, might prove a benefit in northern Minnesota, or in other extremely 
cold localities. 

PROLONGING THE FRUITING SEASON— The currant ripens in July and 
August, but, by shading the bushes after the middle of May, with matting or straw mats, 
the fruit may be kept even into September and October. On some soils, it may be well 
to keep the roots cool and moist by heavy mulching. A late variety, like the Victoria, 
answers the same purpose, though in a less degree. If plants are closely shaded, even 
after the first of July, the ripening of the fruit may yet be retarded. Another plan is to 
allow grape vines, or other trailing vines, to climb over the bushes. 

DESTROYING THE CURRANT WORM.— The currant ha? very few enemies. 
Of these the most common is the currant worm {abraxis ribeana). This is easily and 
(\'w;«(?«A' destroyed by mixing a spoonful of powdered white hellebore (a poison ) in a 
l>ailful of water, and sprinkling the bushes upon which the worms appear. Another 
method is to mix a spoonful of kerosene or coal oil with a gallon of strong soap-suds or 
water, and sprinkle it over the bushes with a whisk-broom. 

Another plan for destroying the worms is to make a mixture of half a pailful of wood 

13 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

ashes, and one pint each of powdered hellebore and flour of sulphur, and dust it lightly over 
the worms while the foliage is damp. It is said that dry wood ashes alone, or soot, will 
also destroy them. Another method, that is said to be successful, is to mix one ounce of 
crude carbolic acid in half a pailful of hike warm water, in which a little soft soap, or 
one-quarter of a pound of hard soap had been dissolved. Another remedy, consisting of 
one part of Paris green to ten of flour or plaster of Paris, should only be used on young 
plants, or after the fruiting season, owing to its extremely poisonous character. 

Other methods consist in sprinkling the bushes frequently with skim milk, or occa- 
sionally with a strong brine made of salt and water. A solution made of common dried 
Indian pokeroot (hellebore) and water, will be the easiest and most effective in most 
hands. Due care should be taken not to apply the salt or carbolic acid mixtures too 
strong, or too frequently, and not to use any poisonous pieparations when the fruit is 
large or ripening. Many fruit growers never have to employ any of these remedies, as 
all plantations are not affected. 

The Currant Borer {prenocems supematattis) is less frequently found. It feeds 
upon the pith or wood of the young shoots; but, by cutting out in the winter and burning 
all shoots that are shriveled up, they can soon be headed off". Experiments made with 
some of the remedies mentioned above may, perhaps, be successful also. Plants grown 
in single stems, formed by cutting off all buds below ground from young plants, are 
more liable to be seriously injured by the borer. Currants and Gooseberries are some- 
times grafted on the Missouri currant {ribus atirettm), and grown as single canes or 
standards. They are then said to be proof against the borer; also in the case of foreign 
gooseberries from mildew. 

YIELD AND PROFITS.— A yield of from two hundred to two hundred and fifty 
bushels of currants per acre has, at times, been obtained, but usually, one-third or one- 
half of that quantity would be a safer estimate. The price ranges from two dollars 
to five dollars per bushel, or from five to fifteen cents a pound, according to the varieties 
or markets. The largest sales that have been reported to me have been at the rate of 
$600 and $800 per acre. The usual figures are much less. The bushes generally 
commence bearing the second year after planting, and increase in yield as they grow 
larger. 

MARKETING AND USES.— Currants are usually sold in bulk by the pound, and 
are nearly always shipped to the New York city markets in flat baskets or boxes holding 
from ten to thirty pounds. Peach baskets or flat market baskets with muslin covers are 
also often used. The uses to which the currant is put are so well known as to hardly 
make it necessary for me to mention them; but I will merely remark that, in the form 
of jelly for tarts, or as an accompaniment to mutton or venison, that it has few, if any, 
equals. 



THE Gooseberry {Ribes Grossularia), when given proper care, will prove both pop- 
ular and profitable The fruit in a green state is often in great demand in the 
markets, and is used in quite large quantities for making up into tarts, pies, pre- 
serves, etc. When ripe, and eaten fresh from the ice-box, the berries prove very tempt- 
ing and delicious. The use of thick gloves, in picking, prevents any injury to the hands 
from the thorns. 

SOILS AND PLANTING. — The gooseberry requires about the same treatment 
as the currant, and the same suggestions as to planting, cultivation, mulching, pruning, 
currant worms, manuring and hardiness will equally well apply to it. A rich moist (not 
wet) loam is probably the best soil for it, if a selection can be made. 

PREVENTION OF MILDEW.— The American varieties, like the Downing, 
Smith's Improved and Houghton, are seldom affected, and in many gardens are en- 
tirely free from the attacks of mildew. When it is feared, it is well to set out the 
16 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

bushes where they will be shaded during the heat of the day. Liberal manuring each 
fall or spring, and careful pruning, so as to keep the branches six inches apart, is usually 
effective. Artificial shade, or the training of running beans or vines over the plants, is 
often an effectual preventive. In gardens where the mildew appears, the crop can 
sometimes be saved by sprinkling the bushes with weak lime water, and at the same 
time scattering sulphur, lime and salt upon the ground, underneath the branches, giv- 
ing a pint of the mixture to about every three large bushes. 

Heavy mulching, if the ground is well underdrained, is often a benefit to the goose- 
berry, increasing the size of the fruit, and preventing it from falling off. Coal ashes, 
applied two inches thick as a mulch, is an easy way of accomplishing the same ends. 
Liquid manure, poured frequently around the roots, assists in increasing the size of this, 
as well as that of other berries. The north side of fences, or of buildings, is often a 
good location for the bushes, affording shade, and giving later berries. 

PROFITS AND MARKETINCt.— The gooseberry is usually sold while green, 
and in bulk. The fruit ranges in prices at from $i to ^4 a bushel, and as the plants 
are generally very productive, proves quite a profitable crop. Sometimes the berries, 
either when green or ripe, are sold in quart berry baskets, packed in 32-quart crates. 
The fruit is freed from leaves at times by running it through a fanning mill. 



rpi 



'HE grape [vitis vinifera) has been grown for at least three or four thousand 

\^ years; and man in the past, as at present, has rejoiced in being able to "live 

under his own vines," and to partake of its rich fruits. In nearly all parts of the 

world it can be grown with ease, and is used in immense quantities, either while fresh 

or in the dried form as raisins. It is one of the most nutritious of fruits for those in 

health, while physicians frequently prescribe it to the invalid. 

SOILS AND PLANTING.— Almost any soil is suitable, if not too wet; warm, 
deep soils are usually preferred. The vines can be planted at the same time as other 
fruits, and should be placed in the ground about as deep as they originally grew. 
Planting in large holes, allowing the roots to be spread out, and with pieces of bones 
scattered about, will give the best results. Manures or fertilizers should not be placed 
in contact with the roots, but may either be spaded in previous to planting, or applied 
just above the roots before filling in all the soil. 

CULTITATION AND TRAINING.— Frequent cultivation is a benefit, as with 
all other fruits, but need not be so deep for the grape. The first year allow only one 
cane to grow, training it to a stake, or not, as preferred. In the fall, either prune or 
not, and if north of Virginia cover with a little soil, or with evergreen boughs, or other 
coarse material. The second year, in the spring, cut back to three or four buds, or to 
within two feet of the ground. If covered the previous winter, then it is well not to 
remove the protection too early. Most persons prefer not to give covering, merely lay- 
ing the vines down upon the ground, even when quite far north. This second season 
two shoots only should be allowed to grow, rubbing off all extra buds. 

The third season, having pruned these two canes off about four feet from the main 
stem, fasten them horizontally along the lower railing or wire of a trellis. Leave one 
shoot to grow upright about every foot, rubbing off the rest. Each fall or spring trim 
out all laterals, leaving only the two horizontal arms, and the eight or ten uprights. 
Two years later, and every year thereafter, every second or third upright cane may be cut 
back to within one bud of the main arms, and thus new wood for fruiting be constantly 
maintained. Another plan is to allow the canes to grow fan-shaped upon the trellis, re- 
newing some of the canes occasionally by cutting them back. Still another method is 
to allow three or four upright canes to grow to a stake, cutting one or more of the canes 
back, near the ground, occasionally, so as to renew the wood. 

SUMMER PRUNING AND TREATMENT.— The uprights may be pinched 
back at the tops of the stakes or trellises, which are usually made about five feet high. 

17 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

Grapevines make an excellent shade over walks or side doors, in which case the uprights 
may be allowed to grow more freely. Young shoots from the roots or below the arms 
should also be removed, unless wanted to renew the main arms. After the fruit has 
formed, a few of the bunches may be cut out, if too thick or too many for the size of the 
vine. Thinning out a third or a half of the berries in a cluster — using small, pointed 
scissors — is often a benefit, making larger berries and finer clusters. Little lateral 
branches may be pinched back two joints beyond the first, or when too thick remove the 
smaller ones entirely. This summer care of grape vines is one of the pleasantest occu- 
pations for ladies, or other persons, who cannot readily perform the heavier duties of the 
garden, and many an enjoyable and healthful hour may thus be passed " out in the open 
air." 

REMEDIES FOR MILDEW.— In some localities it sometimes happens that 
grape vines are troubled with mildew; but it is not much to be feared by most persons. 
The usual remedy is to dust the vines, when damp, with powdered sulphur, once every 
week or two until the fruit commences to color. Another remedy is said to be a solution 
of sulphate of copper (blue stone or vitriol) sprinkled over the vines just before the start- 
ing of the buds. Another plan is to wash the canes with carbolic acid soap, or a solution 
of sulphuret of lime, before the buds start. 

The " grape rot " may also be prevented by pinning thin brown paper bags around 
the bunches, about ten days after the fruit has formed. An equally effective method, 
and one that keeps the color of the grapes better, is to pin thick, crossbarred mosquito 
netting around the clusters, when small, keeping these on also until the close of the 
season. A board covering, 20 or 24 inches wide, has also proved very effectual. Vines 
supported on brush, and running close to the ground, are said to be safe from the " rot" 
or other injuries. To drive off insects or the " grape curculio," it is recommended to 
wet the vines well (when the fruit is forming), with a mixture of one-quarter pint of kero- 
sene stirred into a pail of water; or to smoke or " smudge " the young clusters by burn- 
ing gas tar and rags, holding them on the windward side of the vines. 
» 

YIELD AND PROFITS. — As grape vines do not require usually much manure, 
the chief expense in connection with a vineyard is the care of the vines and picking the 
fruit. The yield sometimes reaches four tons of grapes to the acre, but it is better in the 
end, for the vines, to limit it to about two tons. The cost of cultivation, training and 
picking is usually from ,$75 to $Ioo per acre. The sales per acre range from $125 to 
$600 — the fruit selling at from three to twenty cents a pound, according to the variety, 
or season, or state of the market. 

MARKETING GRAPES.— In the New York city markets much of the fruit is 
sold in round or square paper or wooden boxes, holding two, three and five pounds each. 
Immense quantities are also sold in flat boxes or baskets holding from twenty to twenty- 
five pounds each. Open baskets holding six or eight pounds each, and fitting in the 
ordinary strawberry crates, are also frequently used. 

GRAPES IN WINTER — With a little care, this delicious and healthful fruit may 
be had upon the table during most of the months of the year. The Diana and Isabella 
are usually the kinds selected for late keeping. Catawba, Wilder, Rebecca, lona, Clin- 
ton, &c., are also good keeping varieties. By carefully picking any of these (not too early 
m the season) when ripe and dry, and by placing them in a cool (not damp) room, they 
can usually be kept from two to four months. By placing them in cool rooms, in 
shallow covered boxes or drawers between layers of wheat chaff, cut rye straw, baked 
maple wood or bass-wood saw-dust, or between layers of paper or cotton, they can be 
kept sometimes for six or eight months. 

Another plan is to cut the bunches with portions of the vine attached, and to hang 
the bunches up, first applying sealing wax to the ends of the branches. Still another 
method is to suspend them in the same way, sealing one end of the piece of vine, and 
keeping the other end in a bottle of water and powdered charcoal Sometimes the end 
of the vine is passed through a cork, and closely sealed in with wax. Grapes can also 
be often kept well in the small three or five pound boxes, in which they are sold, or 
when suspended in shallow market baskets, in a cool room of even temperature. Dip- 
ping the stems of the bunches in sealing wax is a benefit, whatever way the grapes may 
be packed away. Cellars are sometimes too moist, but at other times when dry and 
cool are excellent for keeping the grapes in. Bruised grapes should be cut out with 
scissors before putting away. The little care required in some of these methods will soon 
be forgotten in the pleasure of \vx^\x\g fresh grapes to eat for ten months of the year. 
18 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

GRAFTING, RIPENING LATE YARIETIES, &c.— The grape is usr.ally graft- 
ed below the ground. Sometimes success is more certain in the fall, than when graft- 
ing in early spring. In fall grafting a reversed flower-pot, or small box should be placed 
over the cion, and the frost kept out by covering thickly with soil leaves, straw, &c. 
"Bleeding" of vines from spring pruning does little injury ; grafting wax is sometimes 
applied to the larger branches when cut off. Prune grape vines if possible when the sap 
is dormant, though light spring pruning is practised at times even as late as in May. 
Old, unfruitful vines will usually send out new shoots, if cut back in March, within a 
foot or two of the ground. The time of ripening of late varieties, like the Catawba or 
Isabella, may often be hastened a week or ten days by cutting off one-third or one-half 
of the clusters, when small. 



^UIT Tl 



BESIDES the advantages of having a supply of fruit, there are many other benefits 
to be obtained from the planting of fruit trees. How much more attractive and 
homelike is the place, in which the agreeable shade of trees is combined with 
many a luscious feast of apples, peaches and pears ! What tender memories of " home" 
cling around some old apple tree, under whose shade in youth many a happy hour had 
been spent ! The ''old oaken bucket" calls up many pleasant thoughts of years gone 
by ; but how much pleasanter those thoughts of home life, when the cool shade of trees 
added to its attractiveness. 

Many a parent has wondered why " the boys leave the farm." Would not many less 
have to ask themselves this question, if the surroundings of the house were made more 
inviting through the planting of apple or cherry trees, and the young people led to inter- 
est themselves in the smaller fruits ? Then, as a permanent investment, can any better 
way be found for the use of a few dollars than in planting some fruit trees ? It is often 
estimated that an apple orchard in full bearing, of an acre in extent, adds from $500 
to $1,000 to the value of a homestead, and yet the original cost of buying the trees, and 
of transportation and planting is often less than $10 an acre. Small city lots or gardens, 
are often benefited in even a greater degree by planting a good assortment of fruits. 

PREPARATION OF SOIL, PLANTING, &c.— When possible, it is best to 
select ground where a hoed crop has been grown for a year or two previous ; or, grain, 
crops often leave the land in sufficiently good condition. Grass lands may be used, 
if the sod is turned under, six or eight months previously, in time to rot. When neces- 
sary, trees may be planted in sod land, being careful to have good fine soil in among the 
roots. If the sods, after planting, are reversed, and the ground covered with a thick 
mulch, they will usually quickly rot. Low wet lands should not be selected for plant- 
ing, unless first under-drained or surface-drained. 

Soils that are rich or rich prairie soils require very little if any manure ; an occa- 
sional application of bone-dust, wood ashes, muck or chip dirt being better than stable 
manure. On most other soils, if crops are grown between the rows of trees, the young 
trees will be sufficiently enriched by what is given to the growing crops. Fruit trees are 
usually planted in the spring from March 15th to early in May, aud in the fall from 
about October 1st, until as late in the season as the ground is suitable. In planting, it is 
well to make the holes quite large, so as to have good loose soil for the roots to grow 
in. As trees grow from twenty to one hundred years, they are well worth careful plant- 
ing. A few broken pieces of bones, scattered around in the holes, and covered with soil, 
are excellent to have underneath the trees. 

In digging the holes for planting, the good surface soil should be kept separ- 
ate from the poorer subsoil, and after^vards well worked in, among and around 
the roots. The trees should be planted about as deep as they originally grew 
in the nursery rows. In planting dwarf pears, many persons prefer to plant them 
from two to four inches deeper, as a larger growth is thus obtained. Before 
planting, it is well to cut off the broken ends of the roots, cutting from the 
underside. At the same time, or immediately after planting, the trees should 
be pruned, cutting out all except from three to five of the main branches, and shortening 

19 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 



these in from one-third to one-half of the previous years' growth. A much quicker and 
stronger growth may be obtained the first season, when they have thus been well cut 
back. In fall planting, it is usually best to defer pruning until early the following 
spring. 

CULTIVATION OF FRUIT TREES.— Frequent cultivation adds much to the 
gi-Qwth of young orchards. It has been estimated that one plowing and five harrowings 
in a season, costing about $5 per acre, are equal to ten or fifteen loads of manure costing 
$15 or $20. Orchards should not be seeded down to grass, except in cases of apple and 
cherry trees after they come into bearing, or when it is done to check the growth of other 
trees, and to promote fruitfulness after a too vigorous growth. However, good crops of 
plums and pears are often obtained when bearing trees are grown in grass, if a good top- 
dressing of manure or fertilizers is given them each year. 

MULCHING- AROUND TREES The same materials may be used as in the case 

of strawberries and raspberries. A loose cultivated soil is often a sufficient mulching 
in itself, but in seasons of drouth, or on dry soils, it is safer to cover the ground witli 
some course material for two or three feet on each side of the trees. Mulching is a great 
benefit to young trees at the south ; also, to trees at the north that have been set out late 
in the spring. Cherry trees should nearly always be mulched the first year. 

DISTANCES FOR PLANTING TREES AND PLANTS.— The number of trees 
or plants required, can be obtained by multiplying the number to be contained in one 
row by the number of rows. Another method is to divide the number of square feet in the 
plot, by the number of square feet to be given to each plant or tree. Thus strawberries, 
planted three feet by one, occupy three square feet of ground each ; and an acre, con- 
taining 43,560 square feet, divided by three, gives 14, 520 as the number of plants required. 



Strawberries, 


. 2 or 3 feet 


byi 


to l\ 


Apples, . , . 


20 to 40 


feet by 30 or 40 


Strawberries, . 


4 or 5 


" 


I 


or i| 


Apples, (dwarf). 


. 6 to 10 




6 or 8 


Raspberries, 


• 3i or 4 


" 


3i 


or 4 


Pears (standard). 


18 or 20 




" 16 to 20 


Raspberries, . 


6 or 7 


" 


2 


or 3 


Pears (dwarf), . 


. 8 or 10 




" 8 or 10 


Blackberries, 


. 5 or 6 


" 


5 


or 6 


Plums, , . . . 


14 to l3 




" 14 to 18 


Blackberries, . 


7 or 8 


" 


2 


or 3 


Peaches, . 


14 to 18 




" 14 to 18 


Currants, 


3j or 4 


" 


4 


or 5 


Cherries, . . . 


16 to 20 




" 16 to 20 


Gooseberries, 


• jjor 4 


" 


4 


or 5 


Quinces, . . . 


. 8 to 14 




" 10 to 14 


Grapes (stakes) 


, 6 or 8 


" 


6 


or 8 


Apricots, . . . 


14 to 18 




" 14 to 18 


Grapes (trellis), 


, 8 to 16 


" 


10 


to 16 


Nectarines, . . 


14 to 18 




" 14 to 18 


Asparagus, 


2 or 3 


" 


I 


or \\ 


Rhubarb, , . 


3 or 4 




" 2 or 3 


NUMBER OF TREES OR PLANTS ON AN ACRE 








40 feet 


by 30 feet 


— 


36 




8 feet by 8 feet 


— 


680 


30 


30 " 


= 


50 




8 


3 " 


= 


1815 


20 " 


20 " 


= 


no 




7 


3 " 


= 


2074 


20 " 


15 " 


= 


145 




7 


2 " 


=: 


3111 


i3 


18 " 


= 


135 




6 


5 " 


= 


1452 


16 


16 " 


= 


170 




5 


1 " 


= 


8712 


14 


14 " 


= 


222 




4 


4 " 


= 


2722 


12 " 


12 " 


= 


300 




3 


lir " 


=: 


13403 


10 " 


10 " 


= 


435 




2 " 


1+ " 


r= 


17624 



PLANS FOR ORCHARDS OR FRUIT GARDENS.— An excellent plan for 
laying out orchards, is to place the apple trees 35 or 40 feet apart each way, then in the 
apple rows, half way between, plant a standard pear. Then cross-ways, half way between 
the apple, plant a peach or dwarf growing tree. Opposite the pear trees, either a cherry, 
quince, plum, pear, or peach tree may be planted. The trees will then be either 17^ or 
20 feet apart. If small fruits are also to be grown, then a row of raspberries or black- 
berries can be planted in each tree row, and three or four rows of strawberries in each 
space. If preferred, one space might be given up to raspberries, another tc blackberries, 
another to strawberries, and another to currants and gooseberries; or the last two fruits, 
being longer lived, might be placed in the apple rows. By the time that the apple will 
require most of the ground, the peach trees and dwarf trees, and also the small fruits 
will be through bearing, while the pear and cherry trees, being of upright growth, will 
seldom interfere. 

20 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

Another plan is to have a row planted with peaches, pears or plums, or dwarf trees, 
half way between each apple row, and small fruits or vegetables in the spaces between. 
In this way double crops may be obtained, giving an annual income of from $200 to 
S600 until the apple trees come into bearing; while the peaches, raspberries and black- 
berries will be benefited by the protection afforded by the apple trees. In places ex- 
posed to severe winds, it is sometimes advisable to plant a row of rapid-growing ever- 
greens (pine or spruce, &c.) on the north and west sides, having the trees from 5 to 15 
feet apart. 

In small gardens in the suburbs of towns or cities, quite a number of trees may be 
planted, by setting out a row a few feet from the fence, having the row run all around 
the plot. By planting from 8 to 12 feet apart they will do well, and can afterwards be 
thinned out if necessary. VVhfen, in small gardens, a vacant space is wanted for vegeta- 
bles, then only dwarf-growing trees, or peaches, plums, pears, &c., should be planted on 
the south side. Berry bushes may be set out next to the fences, and in the tree rows. 

MAPPING ORCHARDS AND LABELING TREES.— It is always best to 
have a small map, giving the relative positions and names of the trees. This should be 
made either at the time of planting, or within a week, before the labels are lost. The 
wires on trees and plants are, happily for the orchards, quite frail; otherwise many a 
branch would soon be badly girdled. Copper wire will last some years, but, if used, the 
wire should be put on, leaving very large loops, and the wire should be examined every 
two or three years. Printed labels, or labels written with a lead pencil upon fresh paint, 
will last from two to ten years; but more durable labels are made by writing on zinc 
with a common lead pencil. The best form to use are triangular pieces, five inches long, 
and three-fourths of an inch wide at one end, and tapering to a point at the other. They 
are easily cut out of sheets of zinc. The smaller end may be curled around a branch, 
and will expand as the tree grows. Tin scraps. fastened on in the same way are also 
quite durable, and should be written upon with an awl or nail. The pleasure of grow- 
ing fruits is greatly increased if the names are known, while the fruit itself often sells 
better when properly named. Trees and plants are well worth labeling. 

RESUSCITATING TREES AND PLANTS.— If trees or plants have become 
very dry or shriveled from long exposure, or delays, then either bury them entirely in 
damp soil for two or three days, or place them in water for from 12 to 24 hours. If re- 
ceived in a frozen state, no injury will be experienced if placed unopened in a cellar, or 
elsewhere where they will be exposed to neither cold nor heat, but allowed to thaw out 
gradually. 

"HEELING IN" TREES AND PLANTS.— Sometimes packages may arrive 
before the ground is ready, on account of heavy rains, or delay in plowing, &c. At 
such times it is often the practice to " heel in " the trees, &c. This is done by digging 
a trench 12 to 18 inches deep, and placing the roots of the trees in it, with tops reclin- 
ing at an angle of 45 degrees. Cover the roots with soil, and, in the new trench thus 
formed, place another layer of trees, and so on, until all are "heeled in." If trench- 
ing them in, in the fall, to remain all winter, the soil should be svell filled in among the 
roots, and banked up higjjer over them. 

STAKING TREES. — This is seldom necessary, except at times in very exposed 
placesV The " firming" of the ground with the foot before filling in quite all the soil, 
usually suffices to keep them from swaying in the wind too much. When staking is 
necessary, the trees should be tied, if possible, with some soft material, and a small roll 
of straw or matting fastened between the stake aad tree to prevent any injury. In fall 
planting stakes are rarely needed, as the " hilling up " of the soil usually keeps them 
sufficiently steady. Crooked trees, when young, may often be easily straightened by 
tying them firmly to stout stakes. 

SUMMER PRUNING OF FRUIT TREES.-In young orchards I consider the 
summer to be the best time of the year for training trees into shape. In the spring, at 
time of planting, we will suppose that all except from three to five branches have been 
pruned out, and that these have been shortened in one-third or one-half. In May and 
June the main flow of the sap maybe directed into one or two shoots on each branch, by 
pinching off the ends of all the other shoots when two or three inches long. In pruning 
it is well to remember that the way that a bud or shoot points, in that way the branch 
will grow. I consider it better io pinch off, or break off the shoots at distances desired, 
than to use a knife or shears in summer pruning of young shoots. Later in the summer 

21 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

the young shoots need not be pinched off quite so close. This summer training of fruit 
trees will afford many a pleasant hour's recreation in the fruit garden to ladies, as well as 
to others. Trees that are well attended to in summer require very little pruning the fol- 
lowing fall or spring; merely to have the terminal shoots f?// back about one-third, and 
then only for the first two or three years. After that summer pruning is sufficient. 

FALL AND SPRING PRUNING.— Trees may be pruned in October or Novem- 
ber after the leaves have fallen, if summer pruning has been neglected. However, I 
consider it much better to wait until the close of winter, or in spring before the buds 
start or open. Even after they have opened, large or small branches may be cut out, 
but no pruning should be performed on the terminal shoots as late as that. If sawing 
off limbs over an inch in diameter, it is well to smooth over the cut with a sharp knife, 
and cover with shellac varnish, liquid grafting wax, or boiled linseed oil. Large or rot- 
ten limbs on old trees may be cut out at almost any time of the year, though best when 
not in leaf. If first cut a little on the under side with a hatchet or saw, a cleaner cut 
can be made If the owner of an orchard cannot be present all the time, then with a 
piece of chalk fastened to a long stick, he can mark the exact places to be cut by his 
men. 

TO PROMOTE FRUITFULNESS IN TREES.— The pinching in of side shoots is 
one of the best ways of causing fruit buds to form. Another method is to fasten a liga- 
ture tightly around some of the branches. Another plan is to bend the branches, keep- 
ing the tops fastened down with weights lower than the bases of the branches. Another 
way is to make a circle of a branch, fastening in that way for a while. By partially 
breaking, or twisting young shoots, the sap may also be retarded so as to form fruit 
buds. 

If many trees are to be treated, then the more common way is to cease cultivation, 
and to sow the ground with clover or grass seed, allowing it to remain in sod for two or 
three years. Any of the above plans will cause the trees or branches treated to produce 
fruit while younger than they otherwise would, if fruit buds or spurs had previously 
been absent. Pruning the roots in the fall or winter by digging a trench half way 
around or entirely round the tree, is an excellent way for treating entire trees or 
orchards. The trench may be made from three to six feet out, according to the size of 
the tree, and leaf-mould, rich soil or some compost may be thrown in before filling it 
up. One pruning of the roots is usually sufficient, though in succeeding years it may 
also be performed if desired. A top-dressing of two bushels of salt per acre every year 
or two, or of lime, often seems to have a good effect in promoting fruitfulness, though 
less speedy and less certain. 

PROTECTION AGAINST RABBITS.— In some localities rabbits and mice 
sometimes "girdle" or eat the bark off of young fruit trees; large trees are not so 
tempting. Hunting dogs and sliot-guns are a partial remedy for the rabbits. Poisoning 
with arsenic and sweet apples or sweet potatoes is sometimes practiced, but the pieces 
of apples should only be placed around the grounds near evening, and carefully gathered 
up each morning. A mixture of soot, lime and sulphur, made into a thin paste and 
spread on the bark of the trees late in the fall proves an excellent remedy against rab- 
bits. Tarred paper wrapped around the trunks of the trees in November, with the tar 
side out, is effectual. 

Other methods are to drive down a number of stakes close around the tree, or to fasten 
strips or fctfrj-^* bark around the trees with strong cord or wire. Cow manure and lime, 
brtished on the trees two or three times a winter, will answer if applied pretty thick. An 
easy plan is to mix powdered sulphur with sweet milk, about as thick as paint, and apply 
it late in the fall. Cylinders of tin, made three feet high, are effectual. Painting 
with fresh pine tar is sometimes recommended, though safer if applied to paper first. 
Other plans are to rub the bark of the trees with fresh blood or livers, two or three times 
in the winter. Another way, sometimes practiced, is to mix sulphur moderately thick 
with melted refuse lard, and add two tablespoonfuls of kerosene to each quart of the 
mixture. One application will sometimes last two years. A mixture of fresh lime, flour 
and soft soap, in C(|ual parts, slaking the lime in water first, is sometimes used. Others 
protect their trees from rabbits by covering the trunks with hay or straw. 

PROTECTING TREES FROM MICE Hilling up the soil in the fall, or heap- 
ing u]) coal ashes around the trees, eight or twelve inches, or packing the snow hard 
around the trees, are usually effective where the mice are not very thick. Pieces of old 

23 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

tin, obtained by melting the solder from fruit cans, or from old pails, or stove pipe, if 
wrapped around the trees, are the safest. If pushed down into the soil an inch or two, 
they will often exclude the borer also. When mice are very thick, it is sometimes neces- 
sary to poison them by soaking shelled corn in strychnine and water, and placing it 
around the orchard in fruit cans laid on their sides. These poisons that I mention should 
be used wiih gnat caution, if used at all, as they are equally destructive to fowls or any 
animals swallowing them. Some of the remedies used against rabbits, such as using 
tarred paper, or painting the bark with disagreeable mixtures, would perhaps also prove 
effectual against the mice, if tried. 

FALL PLANTING OF FRUIT TREES.— Fall is the favorite time with many 
for m.aking plantations of trees, as equally good success may be obtained as in spring 
planting. Peach trees planted north of Albany, N. Y., may not do quite as well as when 
planted in the spring, though good success is usually obtained. Cherries, plums, &c., 
sometimes do even better than if planted in April or May. The time in the fall is from 
early in October until as late as holes can be dug in tlie ground. After planting, place 
some rotted manure around each tree, and before winter sets in, have the soil well hilled 
up around them. This can be done as easily as hilling up the same number of hills of 
potatoes. At the south the " hilling up " may be omitted. 

DESTROYING THE BARK LOUSE.— This is a small, scale-like, whitish, oval- 
shaped insect, about an eighth of an inch long, that is sometimes found on young fruit 
trees. A wash made by boiling tobacco stems in water, and mixing with soft soap, will 
easily destroy them. A solution of soft soap, or potash, or wood ashes, is also effective. 

DESTROYING THE WOOLLY APHIS.— This is a minute, white, downy insect, 
that forms in the branches, appearing like mildew. It is sometimes called the " Amer- 
ican blight," but is much more easily controlled than the regular blight. A wash of 
whale-oil soap speedily destroys it. Fresh white wash, made of unslaked lime and one- 
fourth sulphur, is another remedy. Sometimes half an ounce of carbolic acid is added. 
These washes are also good for destroying other forms of insect life. A wash made with 
half an ounce of common sulphuric acid and one-third of a pint of water, applied with a 
brush or swab, is also effectual, as are also many other lime or potash or sulphur solutions 



APPI^IES. 



THE APPLE {Pyrus Malta, L., or Apfel of the German) is widely grown in this 
and other lands. So extensively is it grown, and so generally is it used throughout 
the year, that to us in America it seems almost a necessity; and no doubt its 
pleasant acid has added health to vast numbers of our countiymen. As suggestions have 
already been made about planting, cultivating, &c., under the head of " Fruit Trees," it 
will necessarily follow that a good many of my following remarks will be in regard to the 
treatment of diseases in trees, or of insects upon them. However, let no one suppose 
from this, that it is difficult to grow orchards of trees, as most persons are so little 
troubled with such things as to never resort to any of the remedies or method of 
treatment that I name. Indeed, I could mention a number of cases, in which good 
crops have been obtained for fifteen or twenty years, without resorting to any of these 
outside helps. Still, there are many persons growing fruit for p'rofit, or for exhibition 
purposes, who will find them a decided assistance in accomplishing their ends. 

CHANGING THE BEARING YEAR.— Some varieties of apples, and of other 
fruit trees also, yield such heavy crops one year as to require the following season to 
recruit in before producing another crop. When it is found that certain trees only pro- 
duce fruit every other year, or during the "apple year," when fruit is plenty and low- 
priced, then this habit of bearing may be changed by picking off nearly all the fruit 
in May or early in June in the year when the trees first promise good crops. The 
trees may thus be made to bear their heaviest crops on the " off years," or when the 
prices are better. If an annual crop is wanted, then the young fruit should be 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

thinned out, if the trees are liable to overbear, and wood ashes, salt, and oyster shell 
l.me, be applied to the soil above their roots each spring or fall. 

THE APPLE BORER is the larva of a striped brown and white beetle {saperda 
hivittata) that bores into the trunks of trees at the surface of the ground. When 
this white grub is already present in the tree, it may either be picked out with a knife, or 
punched to death in its hole by using a twig or flexible wire. If the borers are not 
very numerous and time precious, then this may be omitted, but late in June the trunks 
of the trees should be washed down to the givu/id v/ilh a mixture made of half a gallon 
of soft soap, and quarter of a pint of crude carbolic acid, stirred into two gallons of warm 
water, and afterwards two gallons of cold water, added. Another easy plan is to mix 
an ounce of crude carbolic acid with a gallon of hot and strong soap suds, and apply 
when cold in June, and again the last of July. 

Other preventives are to wash the lower trunks of trees with a solution of half a 
pound of common potash to half a gallon of water in May and June. Coal ashes mixed 
with wood ashes, and heaped up around the trees in May, are excellent. Wood ashes if 
applied alone very thick might injure ;)v««^ trees. Air-slaked lime and soil are also 
good to heap up around the trees. If the trees are entirely girdled by borers, mice or 
rabbits, they can often be saved by connecting a number of cions or grafts with the lower 
and upper bark in spring, and afterwards covering, where they join, with grafting wax. 

DESTROYING THE CODLING MOTR.— This moth (carpoca/>sa/>omon£l/a)l2Lys 
the eggs in the fruit that produces the a/p/e tvorin. It is of a grayish color, marked 
witli brown, and is about half an inch in length. One plan is to wind a band of hay or 
cotton flannel around the trunk or branches of the tree, and after the worms have come 
down from the fruit, and spun their nests in the band, it may be destroyed or cleaned 
before they hatch out. By placing old cloths in the crotches of the trees many may be 
caught. Swine and poultry will also destroy many apple worms if given a chance. 

The moths, as well as other moths or beetles that fly at night, may be destroyed in 
large quantities by means of petroleum torches or small fires lighted in the orchards in 
May and early in June. A light thrown upon a fish or trout pond will cause many 
moths to fall into the water and be eaten up. Another plan is to place a lantern or lamp 
inside of a tarred barrel or against tarred boards. Another, to place a bell-glass smeared 
outside with oil over a light in a dish filled with oil. Wide-mouthed bottles half filled 
with vinegar, molasses and water will trap large quantities. United efforts in a neigh- 
borhood are best, and will soon give smooth clean apples and good crops for all. 

THE CANKER WORM {anisopteryx pometaria) feeds on the leaves, of trees. 
The female wingless parent moth commences to ascend the tree in March, laying a 
number of eggs, from which about the middle of May the brownish yellow striped 
canker worms are hatched out. The female parent moth may be prevented from climb- 
ing the tree by nailing a rope around the trunk, and afterwards nailing a strip of tin, five 
inches wide on the rope, or nail strips of tin around the trunk with the lower edge out. 
Other plans are to fasten five-inch strips of freshly tarred paper or canvas around the 
trunks, first mixing the tar with train oil if possible. 

The canker worms may be driven out of trees that have no fruit, by syringing them 
with a solution made of half a pound of powdered arsenic (poison), and forty gallons of 
water, or with a solution of Paris green (poison). Trees in fruit may be syringed with a 
warm lye made from wood ashes or potash, and a little grease. This last is very un- 
pleasant for nearly all forms of insect life. Whale-oil, soap suds or other mixtures, will 
perhaps prove effective. 

TENT CATERPILLARS These are the offspring of a reddish brown moth of 

medium size. The best time to destroy tlie caterpillars is in tlie morning before nine 
o'clock, or towards evening when they are in their nests. When on small trees the 
nests can be pulled down with the hand and crushed under foot. A small broom or 
mullin stalks, fastened on a pole, and twisted around in the nests will soon entangle 
them. An easy method is to burn them in their nests witli long petroleum torches or 
flambeaux. Another plan is to fasten a sponge on a pole, wet it well with liquid am- 
monia (hartshorn,) or naphtha, and turn it slowly in among the caterpillars. They are 
easily conquered, if not allowed to remain undisturbed. 

THE BITTER ROT is thought to be caused by an over luxuriant growth. Re- 
tarding the growth of tlie tree by seeding down to clover or grass, or root pruning, or 
cutting a circle round the bark (girdling) or driving nails into the tree will perhaps coun- 
teract it. Most fruit are not troubled with it to any extent. 
21 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

RENOTATING OLD APPLE TREES.— A little attention will often save many 
a fine tree. Other trees, however, that are almost dead, are sometimes better suited to 
the wood pile than to the pruner's saw. When trees have passed their prime, then is 
the time to plant out younger trees to give a supply of fruit by the tim3 that their elders 
have taken their departure. When apple trees cease bearing well, and make but little 
new growth, the attention of the owner should first be paid to any insects or borers that 
may infest the bark or trunk of the trees. The rough bark may be scraped down with a 
blunt hoe on to a sheet made to fit around the tree, and the scrapings of insects' nests, 
&c., burned. The borers may also be killed with a knife or flexible wire. Next, the 
bark of the tree may be washed with strong soap suds or potash water, or soft soap, 
mixing a little sulphur with it, or other remedies previously mentioned may be used. 

All sprouts or suckers should be cut away from the base of the tree, and if growing 
out from the branches, then only an occasional one should be left to take the place, or 
to be in readiness to supply the place of decaying limbs. By thinning out a few of the 
larger limbs, more sunlight can be let into the tree, and the roots be better enabled to 
support a vigorous growth in the remaining branches. The trees also now need to be 
stimulated into growth, and may either be manured well, or a peck each of wood ashes 
and air-slaked lime, and two quarts of iron filings or refuse iron, may be scattered 
around the tree, and plowed under quite shallow. Smaller trees, like the pear, plum, 
quince, &c., will require a less quantity of lime, &c.; but aU should receive good culti- 
vation for a year or two. 

TIELB AND PROFITS. — The yield varies greatly according to the size of the trees; 
but bearing orchards usually produce from 50 to 200 barrels to the acre. Instances 
have come within my notice where single trees have produced from 15 to 30 bushels of 
marketable apples. A grower living a little below Albany, N. Y., has this past year 
obtained 53 barrels of choice fruit from ten trees, selling the fruit at from $3 to $5 per 
barrel. Frequently the yield is from four to seven barrels per tree. The sales per acre 
usually range from $100 to $300; though $400 per acre is not an unusual figure when 
prices are favorable. The fruit from single trees, in good years, have realized for their 
owners from $15 to $25, according to management, markets, &c. 

PICKING AND MARKETING OF APPLES.— Summer and early fall apples 
are usually picked just before they are ripe, or while ripening. Winter varieties are left 
on in this latitude until about the loth or 20th of October, or even later, but should be 
picked if possible before the first freezing of the ground. South of Baltimore, Md., 
winter apples need not usually be picked until in November; but some varieties may 
require to be picked a month earlier if they commence falling badly. Extra early apples 
are often sent to the New York markets in crates, holding about a bushel each. Usually, 
however, both summer and winter apples are sent in clean barrels. In summer the bar- 
rels are generally ventilated by means of holes drilled or cut in the sides and ends. 

In packing apples for market, it is customary to put in t\\o layers at the bottom, 
with the stems down. These, however, should be no better than the rest of the barrel's 
future contents. Next fill the barrel one-third full, putting the apples in rapidly, but 
carefully, and with the hands reaching well down into the barrel. Shake the barrel 
carefully now, and again when two-thirds full, also when filled. Before heading the 
barrel it should be nearly level full, so as ^o require considerable pressure upon the 
apples in getting the head in its place. A simple machine is often used to press the 
heads into position. The name of the apples or the shipping card should then be fast- 
ened on the lower head, which is the head to be opened. It pays to keep out inferior 
specimens, and to exert due care in pressing down the heads, that there may be no loose 
apples to shake around in the barrels, 

DIRECTIONS FOR KEEPING APPLES.— Some persons prefer to keep the 
apples in heaps in the orchard, or in cool sheds, or fruit rooms, for a week or two be- 
fore heading up the barrels for marketing or for keeping. Many others only cover the 
barrels with boards to protect from rain, or place them in sheds, and head them up later. 
Others head up the barrels, at once, and place them on their sides, supported on two 
rails. Apples to keep well should be carefully picked by hand, to avoid bruising, and 
only when perfectly dry. It is well to keep them in a cool shed, or protected on the 
north side of buildings, as late as possible in the fall before removing them to the cellar. 
A cool cellar ranging from 30 to 45 degrees above zero is better than a warmer one. If 
possible ventilate by letting in fresh air only on cool days. Freezing seldom injures 
apples if they are allowed to thaw out undisturbed in dark packages, and in a cool room 
or cellar, 

25 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

An excellent method for keeping apples until late in the spring, or even longer, is to 
place them iu boxes or barrels with dry saw-dust between tlie apples, so that the apples do 
not touch each other. The packages should be kept raised from the floor, and in a cool 
place (not moist) room or cellar. Apples may sometimes be kept even two years when 
packed in ground plaster {gypsum); while dry sand is also excellent. They can also be 
kept easily in shallow pits, two or three feet deep, and covered with three inches of 
soil. A place should be selected where the soil is porous or sandy, and the drainage 
good. A little straw may be placed underneath, and above the apples. Sometimes 
apples in barrels are kept in this way. Freezing does not injure them; but they should 
be used in April or May, taking some out every week or two as wanted. 

FAVORITE MARKET VARIETIES IN NEW YORK CITY.— Popular well 
known varieties sell at higher prices and more quickly than unnamed or unknown sorts. 
The following apples are some of the principal favorites there, but the list would vary 
somewhat for other large cities, viz. : Red Astrachan, Sweet Bough, Fall Pippin, Pri- 
mate, Twenty-Ounce, Northern Spy, Rhode Island Greening, Roxbury Russett, King of 
Tompkins County, Baldwin, &c. Persons desiring further information about market 
varieties of berries, &c., by addressing me, at Saugerties, N. Y., will receive in return 
my illustrated priced catalogue of fruits, which contains a number of facts of interest 
to those growing fruits for market or home use. 

HARDY APPLES FOR MINNESOTA OR NORTHERN VERMONT.— Most 

apple trees when grown on land that is not too rich, will easily stand a temperature of 
20 degrees below zero; but where the thermometer marks 40 degrees below, then some 
care is required in selecting. The Duchess of Oldenburg, Wealthy, Haas, Tetofsky and 
Walbridge appear to be among the most hardy. Red Astrachan, Fameuse, Pewankee, 
Late Strawberry, Emperor Alexander, Tallman's Sweet and Rhode Island Greening, are 
among the next hardiest, and will do for most places of the climate of Vermont, and 
in some favorable localities in Minnesota. Some of the newer varieties also promise to 
prove quite hardy. 

APPLES FOR THE WESTERN PRAIRIES — Most of the above hardy vari- 
eties do well on prairie soil, also Ben Davis, Early Harvest, Fall Orange, Jonathan, 
Maiden's Blush, Hubbardston Nonsuch, &c. At the south many of our winter apples 
ripen in the fall, but it is easy to ascertain from neighbors as to what are the favorite 
varieties in the different States. Most of the varieties mentioned in my priced catalogue 
will be found adapted to the New England and middle States, also to many localities in 
the western States, in which the climate is about the same. 



THE PEAR {Pyrus communis, L.; or Poirier, of the French), continues to grow in 
public favor from year to year, and at the same time proves one of the most pro- 
fitable of fruits. It has been grown in Europe and Asia for fully 2,000 years, but 
it is thought that it is only within the last 100 years that it has attained the perfection 
in flavor that now characterizes some of the popular varieties. It is widely grown in 
this country from Maine to Texas, and also on the Pacific coast, where beautiful large 
specimens are produced. Almost all soils, heavy or light, are suitable for growmg it ; 
though a good loam, if well drained, naturally or artificially, usually gives the best 



results 



Suggestions as to " planting," " cultivation," " pruning, " promotmg fruitfulness, 
fertilizers, insects, " fall planting," &c., will be found under the head of Fruit Trees or 
Apples Dwarf pears, which are budded on quince roots, frequently produce fruit with- 
in a year or two after planting, and require about the same treatment as the standards 
though many persons prefer to plant them from two to four mches deeper than they had 
previously been grown. 

"WHEN TO GATHER PEARS The quality of this fruit is usually greatly im- 
proved when ripened indoors in a dark fruit room or closet. Summer pears should be picked 
2G 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

at least a week before ripening, and autumn varieties fully two weeks before maturing: 
The time to pick the different kinds, is usually when such specimens as have been worm 
eaten, commence to ripen ; or when the stems separate easily from the branch upon 
lifting the fiuit with the hand. Sometimes some specimens on the same tree will not be 
ready to pick for a week or two later than others. 

HOW TO RIPEN ANT) COLOR PEARS.— Having picked the fruit when dry, 
place it on shelves or on the floor either in shallow heaps, or each pear separated, keep- 
ing the room or closet cool and dark. A rich color can be given to many varieties, by 
placing two or three layers of the fruit, either under or between woolen blankets, either 
on the floor or in draws or boxes. If for market they will frequently sell at much higher 
rates when well colored. In ripening winter pears they should be brought out into a 
warmer room, as wanted, and about two weeks before their time of maturing. 

METHODS OF KEEPING PEARS.— By retarding the time of ripening of such 
varieties as the Bartlett, Seckel, Beurre d'Anjou, &c., for a month or six weeks, nearly 
double the usual price can often be obtained for them. The simplest method is to place 
them in clean boxes or crates, directly upon the ice in an ice-house, covering the boxes 
a foot deep with saw-dust. Clean kegs or barrels will answer nearly as well, but the 
fruit should be placed in when green; and, if late fall varieties, should be removed to a 
warmer room to partially ripen. Fruit of nearly all kinds, even when fully ripe, may 
be kept a week or two longer by placing the dish containing it upon ice. Winter pears 
may be kept longer, by wrapping the fruit in paper previous to packing in kegs, barrels 
or bo.xes. They should not freeze, nor be placed in too warm an apartment. 

YIELD AND PROFITS.— Pear trees yield from about a bushel up to two or three 
barrels, and sometimes more. In some orchards the average will be half a barrel to a 
tree, and in others a barrel. The price iox good fruit is far from declining, but rather is 
improving as the country grows richer. Years ago it was thought an unusual thing to 
obtain f 12 or $15 a barrel ; but within the last two or three years, fully double those fig- 
ures have been obtained. In 1868 two barrels of fine Seckel pears, raised near the Hudson 
River, were sold at $40 per barrel, and more were wanted. A year or two before, two 
half barrels of Beurre d'Anjou were sold at $18 each. Bartletts range in price at from 
$4 to $15 per barrel ; usually $5 or $6 per barrel is the average price. I could mention 
a number of orchards of dwarf trees, planted from five to twelve years, in which the 
fruit is sold at the rate of from $500 to $1,500 per acre. Pears grown on dwarf trees are 
often extra large, and sell at times at from 10 to 15 cents each, while even 50 cents and 
$1 each have been obtained for single specimens of the Duchesse d'Angouleme. The 
fruit from standard pear trees sells frequently at from $400 to $1,000 per acre, though 
$200 per acre is a more usual price. 

MARKETING PE.\RS; MARKET VARIETIES, &C.— Pears are usually 
shipped when green, and in either barrels or half barrels. Pears that have been colored 
and are partially ripe should be shipped in smaller packages, either in boxes or crates, or 
in flat market baskets. Extra fine specimens bring the best prices if first wrapped when 
partly ripe, in clean paper, and then packed in flat square boxes holding a bushel, or in 
half barrels. They should always be securely packed, so as to avoid shaking around and 
becoming bruised in'transit. Among the most profitable and favorite market pears arc 
the Bartlett, Seckel, Duchesse d'Angouleme, Beurre d'Anjou, Louise Bonne de Jersey, 
Beurre Bosc and Lawrence. Other favorite market varieties are Bloodgood, Clapp's 
Favorite, Howell, Doyenne Boussock, Sheldon, Beurre Clairgeau, Flemish Beauty, 
Winter Nellis, Josephine de Malines and Vicar of Winkfield. Some of the new vari- 
eties promise well, but nearly all other pears except those named above, sell at low 
prices in the New York city markets. Most of the above are also among the very lest 
for table use. 

TREATMENT OF THE PEAR BLIGHT.— The "blight" is the chief enemy 
of the pear, causing the wood in the branches to turn black, and gradually working its 
way down into the heart of the tree. Its presence may be detected by cutting into the 
terminal shoots with a knife. It usually occurs when the trees have not matured their 
growth in the fall ; or, after having prematurely dropped their foliage, a warm spell of 
weather has caused the sap to again ascend the branches, to be afterwards frozen during 
a severe w nter. In many districts the " blight " is almost unknown, and in others does 
but little injur}'. When present, the branches affected, if small, should be cut back of 

27 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

tlie discolored wood, and burned, as it is thought to be a species of fungus growth in the 
sap Washing the branches with solutions of potasli, or lime, or sulphur, or copperas, 
or carbolic acid, or with linseed oil, often seem to assist in stopping its further progress. 
In />re7vn(ing the blight, the linseed oil or other washes just named, are thought to 
be an assistance, if applied early in the spring. Very wet, undrained soils should be 
avoided; also, late summer cultivation, unless cultivation has been kept up at regular 
intervals during the season. Rich manuring should also be avoided on rich soils, it 
being better to use merely lime, wood ashes or bone-dust. Seeding down to grass 
or clover is often a preventive, but on poor soils, where the growth of the trees would 
be checked too much, it is better to resort to heavy mulching of the trees during the 
growing season and fall, as at present mulching appears to be the test preventive 
known. If in early spring, at time of pruning, a thick, gummy sap should appear, or 
soft sappy or black places on the bark be seen, it may then be known that the 
blight (fire-blight) is present. 

ISON-BLIGHTING PEARS The Bartlett, Seckel, Tyson, Duchesse d'Angou- 

leme, &c., are very slightly or very seldom affected by blight, except under unusually 
unfavorable circumstances. Beurre Clairgeau, Lawrence, Eeurre Giffard, Beurre 
d'Anjou, &c., are among some of the other varieties that are usually pretty free 
from blight. However, it should be remembered, that on most porous or well-drained 
soils, that nearly all the other pears mentioned in my catalogue also do well, if not 
improperly treated. 

INSECT BLIGHT, &C. — Occasionally the twigs of pear trees are injured by a 
little worm, one-eighth of an inch long, causing the tips of branches to turn brown in 
summer, and also the leaves. Such parts should be cut out and burned. Syringing 
the trees in June, and also early in August, with solutions of either sulphur, whale-oil 
soap or hellebore, would probably protect from further attacks for that season. The 
slug-worm may be driven off the foliage, if it should appear in June or July, by dusting 
the leaves while damp with wood ashes, plaster or lime, or probably with some of the 
above solutions, which are usually destructive to most forms of insect life. Under the 
head of Fruit Trees and Apples, other suggestions will be found for destroying worms 
and insects. 

CRACKING OF THE PEAR may be prevented, and sometimes cured, by work- 
ing wood ashes into the soil, broadcast, at the rate of from 50 to 200 bushels to the acre, 
or from one to two bushels over the roots of a good-sized tree. It should not be heaped 
up around the tree, but spread around for 10 or 15 feet from their trunks. Powdered 
sulphur worked into the soil is also said to be a preventive. Possibly thinning the fruit 
would assist ; it also has the effect of making the remaining specimens larger. 

HARDY PEARS FOR NORTHERN LATITUDES.— All varieties are suffi- 
ciently hardy, if planted south of Albany, N. Y. ; while many varieties are hardy in the 
vicinity of the great lakes, and also on the Canada side, even though in northern New 
Hampshire or Vermont they might not be able to stand the winters. Flemish Beauty 
and Louise Bonne de Jersey (dwarf) are among the hardiest for such extremely cold 
localities, while Clapp's Favorite, Beurr6 d'Anjou. Doyenne d'Ete, Rostiezer, Urbaniste, 
Duchesse, Seckel, Winter Nellis, and Onononda are usually hardy in not too cold 
districts. Bartlett, if top-worked on the Flemish Beauty, is usually hardy, and will 
even succeed without doing so in many northern localities, as will also the Lawrence. 
Possibly winter mulching might also enable many other varieties to withstand a tem- 
perature of forty degrees below zero. 



28 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 



THE PEACH {Persica vulgaris, L., or Ft' c her, of the French) is one of the most 
luscious of fruits, and giving a crop within one or two years after planting is also 
one of the most popular of fruit trees among tliose setting out orchards. It 
thrives in nearly all parts of the country, and often succeeds finely in mountainous regions, 
where hitherio it had been thought impossible to grow it. It can be grown on nearly 
all soils, but does especially well on a good loam, or a gravelly soil ; it is also largely 
grown on sandy soils, and occasionally on clay soils. As the trees cease bearing sooner 
than other fruit trees, it is well to make additional plantings about every three or four 
years, and especially if the older trees are growing on sandy soils. Hoed crops may be 
grown between the trees for three or four years, and afterwards good cultivation should 
be given each year until about the time the fruit ripens. 

PRUNING; THINNIIVG THE FRUIT, &c.— Large branches should seldom be 
cut out, but an annual pruning or " shortening in " of the new wood early each spring, 
assists in keeping up a constant supply of fruit, as the fruit buds are produced on wood 
of recent growth. Strong shoots or laterals may be shortened in about one-third, and 
weaker ones about one-half; while others should be removed entirely when too thick. 
As large peaches often sell at three times the price of small ones, it pays to thin out the 
green fruit when too close together. It |also assists in obtaining a more regular crop, 
and may be commenced as soon as the peaches are half an inch in diameter, and 
kept up if necessary until the fruit commences to color. One peach to every three or 
six inches may be left on the branches, though when previously shortened in, this 
thinning out, costing only about $io per acre, may often be omitted. Experimenting 
differently on different trees, making a note of it at the time, will soon show which way 
will give the best results. 

THE PEACH BORER {Algeria exitiosd) is a thin whitish worm, sometimes grow- 
ing to nearly an inch in length which girdles the tree just below the surface of the 
ground. The favorite method of destroying the borer is to hollow out the soil four or 
five mches deep in June, making a basin, and then to pour in one or two gallons of hot 
water. In treating young trees it may be safer to use a knife or flexible wire to kill the 
borers, but in bearing orchards it is quicker to use the hot water, heating it in large 
kettles in the orchards. Heaping up soil or coal ashes around the trees in June, first 
brushing around the collar of the tree with a broom, and removing the old soil and 
sweepings to one side, often prevents the borer from making a lodgment. In Septem- 
ber or October the ground may be again leveled off, and either treated with hot water, 
or brushed well below the surface with a broom. A wash made of half a gallon each of 
soft soap and hot water, and four ounces of carbolic acid, with twelve gallons of cold 
water added afterwards, if applied early in July, will prevent the blue, four-winged, 
parent wasp from depositing its eggs in the trunks of the trees. Driving nails in the 
trees have no effect; but other washes, or a handful of wood ashes placed around the 
trunk might be a benefit. 

TREATMENT OF THE YELLOWS.— Its appearance may be known by the 
tree putting out some thin, wiry laterals, upon which are produced very slender or nar- 
row leaves of a yellowish or pale green color. The usual practice is to dig out the tree 
and roots and burn them, and not to plant another peach tree on the same spot for 
twelve or fifteen years. No remedy is known, and as I have had no trouble with it on 
my grounds I have made no experiments in that direction. The tree only would live a 
few years after being attacked, bearing smaller fruit each year; that is darker inside 
than natural, and specked, ripening also prematurely. Possibly cutting out the diseased 
branches, and using the hot water as described above, might be a benefit, especially if 
wood ashes are worked into the soil, and the branches and laterals kept well shortened 
in each year. As the effects of the borer are sometimes mistaken for the yellows, the 
hot-water treatment would save some doubtful trees. Other experiments are worth 
trying. 

29 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

YIELD AND PROFITSj MARKETING, &C.— Peach trees yield from two to 
twelve peach baskets of fruit each, according to size of trees and care given. They are 
shipped either in bushel crates, or in round peach baskets holding from half to five- 
eighths of a bushel each. The price ranges from 50 cents to $5 a basket, according to 
the season and supply and size of fruit. The usual price is about a dollar and a quarter; 
while large, or very early, or very late peaches seldom sell for less than that, and often 
for $2 or S3 a basket. The finest peaches, and consequently the most profitable ones, 
are usually grown on elevated land situated within a mile or two of large bodies of 
water, or of large rivers. The sales per tree after they are five years planted range at 
from $1 to $10 each, and occasionally on large trees nearly double the last figure. The 
sales per acre vary considerably, amounting at times to $500 or $600 per acre, at others 
to about $TOo; but usually to $200 or $300 per acre. If the markets are near at hand, 
peaches, also apricots, plums, melons, &c., can be kept from two to four weeks later by 
placing them in crates on the ice in ice-houses, and covering with blankets, paper or 
other material. 



THE PLUM {Pruniis domestica, L. or PJlaumen, of the German) under favorable 
circumstances is one of the most profitable fruits to grow, and usually is in great 
demand in the markets, either for supplying dessert tables, or for the making of 
preserves, pies, tarts, &c. It is usually planted on strong loams, or on gravelly or clay 
soils, as the curculio is generally more troublesome on light soils. However, by follow- 
ing the suggestions that I will offer, plums may be grown in almost all parts of the 
country. 

PROTECTING AGAINST LATE SPRING FROSTS.— One way that is often 
successful in saving the blossom in May, is to heap up ice or snow around the trees in 
February or March, or to mulch heavily while the ground is still frozen. This often 
keeps the frost in the ground later, retarding the opening of the blossoms in peach, 
plum, or apricot trees until the spring frosts are past. Another method is to cover the 
trees when in blossom with carriage sheets, or paper, &c., on nights that the frost is 
feared. Another plan to ward off the frost from trees or vineyards, is to make a dense 
smoke by burning small fires in the orchard, made of gas-tar, straw, shavings, &c., thus 
preventing rapid radiation from the ground. 

HOW TO TREAT THE BLACK KNOT.— This is about the only serious enemy 
or disease that the plum tree has, and being a species of fungus growth, if neglected 
will spread quite rapidly in an orchard. Many varieties are almost free from its attacks, 
and in some localities it is seldom troublesome. The black warts or knot when present 
should be cut out with a knife, even if obliged to cut half way into a branch or to com- 
pletely sever it. The wound should then be painted with spirits of turpentine to pre- 
vent the further growth of the fungus, and afterwards, if large, should be covered with 
shellac varnish, liquid grafting wax or paint. 

REMEDIES AGAINST THE CURCULIO.— The curculio is a small insect or 
beetle of about one-sixth of an inch in length, of a dark brown color, and having two 
little humps onits back. It cuts into the skin of plums, apricots and nectarines, and 
sometimes into pears, apples, cherries and peaches, making a little crescent-shaped 
mark in which it lays its egg. The easiest way to destroy this " little turk " is to plant 
the trees in a chicken yard, or build a poultry yard around the trees. It is a sure remedy. 
Trees bending over ponds or streams are also said to be free from their attacks. Dust- 
ing frequently with coal ashes, or in wet seasons with air-slaked lime, are easy remedies. 
Smoking or "smudging" the trees frequently, with petroleum smoke, or with burning 
leather or woolen rags, &c., are often successful means to employ. Syringing the young 
plums with a decoction of tomato leaves, or hanging tomato vines, or corn cobs sweetened 
in molasses, in the branches is sometimes recommended. Wood ashes or plaster, if fre- 
quently scattered over the trees while wet are said to be successful. Whale-oil soap I 

SO 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

consider useless, but experiments with other sokitions might be tried on different trees. 
The "concussion theory," or firing off a small cannon in the orchard has its advocates. 

The usual method however for large orchards, or even single trees, is what is known 
as the "jarring process." As soon as the fruit has formed, a hole two inches deep is 
bored into the tree with a half-inch auger, and a short iron rod of half inch diameter 
inserted. Two sheets, or muslin stretched on poles are then placed on the ground under 
the tree, and two or three sharp blows struck on the iron plug with a mallet. The cur- 
culios falling on the sheet may then be killed, or thrown into a covered box to be after- 
wards destroyed. Sometimes sheets with a trap underneath are arranged on a frame- 
work, on a wheelbarrow in such a way as to allow the wheel to jar against the tree. 
This jarring of the tree is to be kept up every morning until the fruit is quite large, and 
should be done in the mornings before nine o'clock. The time occupied will cost from 
lo to 20 cents per tree for the season, but is well worth the trouble, as from $1 to §10, 
per tree may often be saved. 

YIELD AND PROFITS. — The plum when cared for produces very heavy crops, 
yielding from half a bushel to one barrel per tree, or from 50 to 200 bushels per acre. 
They usually sell at from $2 to $4 per bushel, and at times for $6 or $7 per bushel. 
They are often shipped in half barrels or barrels before becoming ripe, and sell at from 
84 to $15 per barrel at wholesale, usually at $5 or $6 per barrel. Ripe plums should 
only be shipped in peach baskets, or small market baskets. 



WBOTAMINBS ANB APMICOT^ 



THESE are delicious fruits, and often sell at high prices, owing to their earliness 
and delicate flavor. They ripen in July and August, before most varieties of 
plums, and require about the same treatment and care as peaches or plums. 
Many prefer to train them to walls or buildings, though they can be grown almost any- 
where where the peach will thrive. They are shipped to New York, when about ripe, in 
strawberry quart baskets or in other small packages, and sell at from 10 to 40 cents per 
quart. 



THE CHERRY {Cerasus sylvesins, L., o>' Cerisier, or the French) has been known 
for fully 2;000 years. It makes an excellent shade tree, and is one of the best 
for planting around buildings, or for giving shade along the highways, as besides 
affording an agreeable shade, it furnishes fruit at the rate of from $5 to $40 worth a 
year. Varieties bearing heart-shaped cherries are the best for shade, and are also among 
the most profitable. Good varieties for shade, &c., are Black Eagle, Black Tartarian, 
Coe's Transparent, Gov. Wood, Elton, Early Purple, Guigne, Downer's Late Red, 
Yellow Spanish, Napoleon Bigareau, Rockport Bigareau, &c. 

SOILS, PRUNING, <S:c. — Though the cherry can be grown on all soils, except 
those that are very wet, still it succeeds best on gravelly or dry soils. It should seldom 
Vje pruned; summer " pinching in " being the best course to follow, and then only for a 
few years. Mulching the first season is to be highly recommended. The tree has but few 
diseases, and is not much troubled with insects. On soils where the trees are accus- 
tomed to split open their bark, it is better to have the lowest branches within three or 

81 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 

four feet of the ground. In colder localities than this, the Dukes and Morello varieties 
of cherries can often be grown, when the others are not sufficiently hardy. Fine thread, 
wound around the trees when in fruit is said to frighten away the birds. Old seines, or 
fish nets might also be worth trying. Root pruning often adds to the fruitfulness of 
the trees. 

KKEPINW CHERRIES, PEACHES, GRAPES, &c.— It is said that almost all 
fruits may be kept for a year, retaining their full Jlavor, by first washing them and 
then placing them in a solution, made of one quart of pttre water, 200 or 300 grains 
{\ to -J ounce) of pure sugar, and two and a half grains to three of salicylic acid. Next, 
tie common wrapping paper tightly over the bottles or jars, and keep in an even tem- 
perature. 

YIELD AND PROFITS, MARKETING, &c.— Good-sized trees usually produce 
from one to five bushels each, or from 100 to 200 bushels per acre. The price in mar- 
ket ranges from $2.50 to $6 per bushel, and occasionally, though very rarely, as high as 
$10 per bushel. A fruit grower near Albany sold from two trees about $70 worth of 
fruit in one year. The usual price is about $3 or $4 per bushel. Cherries are shipped 
to New York city markets in grape boxes, holding from 20 to 30 pounds each, or in 
peach or flat market baskets, and occasionally in strawberry quart baskets and crates. 
The fruit should only be picked when perfectly dry, if for shipping, and with the stems 
attached. 



THIS FRUIT [Cydonia vulgaris) has been known about as long as the cherry, 
and owing to its beautiful and showy blossoms and bright-colored fruit, is often 
planted as an ornamental shrub or small tree. It is one of the most profitable 
fruit to grow in places where it succeeds well, and does best if planted on a deep, 
rich, moist or clayey loam. The trees require but little pruning, except to pinch in 
side shoots when too thick, and to cut out any decaying limbs. 

CULTIVATION, MANURING, &C.— The best results are obtained by culti- 
vating thoroughly. Muck, if sweetened by the frost, is excellent to fork in around the 
trees in spring, and plenty of old manure in the fall. If salt is applied broadcast annu- 
ally at the rate of five bushels per acre on poor soils, or ten bushels on rich soils, it 
will add greatly to their fruitfulness. This amount of salt would injure some fruits or 
plants, but not quinces. Thinning out the fruit fays if it is thick, as large and fair 
quinces bring handsome prices. The borer may be excluded in the same way as from 
the apple. 

YIELD AND PROFITS, MARKETING, &C.— Trees planted only three or 
four years often yield a peck each, while larger trees produce from half a bushel to a 
barrel each. Usually about 300 or 400 trees are planted to the acre, yielding generally 
over half a bushel each on an average. The price varies greatly, though the fruit is 
always in great demand for making marmalades, jellies, &c., or for drying to be used 
with other fruits, which it generally improves greatly in flavor, either when canned or 
stewed with them. Quinces are sent to New York markets in October and November, 
picking them when well colored, and packing them tightly in barrels the same as 
apples, or in large baskets. At retail they are sold at from one to three cents each in 
lots of 50 or 100, and at wholesale at from $3 to $12 per barrel, though usually at $5 or 
$6 per barrel. Within two or three years some extra nice quinces have sold as high 
as $6 and $8 per bushel. 



33 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 



THE FIG (Fictis carica, L., or Figuier, of the French), is pleasant to have as a 
rarity — and, by giving winter protection, will ripen its fruit in most of the north. 
em States. Soil that is neither too wet nor too sandy should be selected, and if 
the bushes are left out doors during the winter, then north of Philadelphia or Cincin- 
nati the branches should be bent down to the ground and covered with three or four 
inches of soil, to be left on until frosts are over. South of Virginia no protection is 
needed, while between these points a covering of straw or evergreens is sufficient. Root 
pruning each November is almost a necessary means to employ in obtaining much fruit. 
Many prefer to grow them in tubs, placing the bushes in the cellar in November, and 
taking them out into the open air in May, after the frosts have ceased. Others keep 
soil around the roots all the year, taking them out of the cellar or boxes each May. 
Rich manuring should be avoided. The fruit will ripen more evenly in August, and be 
much liner if each fruit bud is touched with a drop of sweet oil in May while small. 



ASP A] 



As this vegetable is grown by nearly all fruit growers, I accordingly will now refer 
to it, as it may be an accommodation to others for me to do so. Asparagus 
usually sells at a good price, and being ready for market in April and May, the 
income derived from it is especially appreciated at that time of the year. It is usually 
planted on light soils to have it early, though it can be easily grown on nearly all good 
garden soils. The sprouts are not usually cut until the second or third year after plant- 
ing, except to mow down the canes in the fall. The roots will give good crops for from 
15 to 30 years, selling at from $100 to $400 per acre, usually about $250 per acre. 

In preparing asparagus for market, it is customary to cut the sprouts about 4 or 5 
inches under ground, and when only from 2 to 4 inches high. They are then tied firmly 
in bunches with two strings, having each bunch about four inches in diameter across the 
butts, and are shipped in covered crates holding about a bushel and a half. Plant the 
roots in spring or fall from 4 to 6 inches deep, covering with only 3 inches of soil at 
first, and filling in the trenches as the plants get a few inches high. Keep well cultiva- 
ted the first year or two, and afterwards only veiy early in the spring, and again in July 
or August if desired. Salt spread broadcast early in spring, at the rate of 5 or 10 bushels 
per acre, is an excellent fertilizer, and with a good top dressing of stable manure in 
November is all that is necessary. 



RHUBARB (pie-plant) is usually in great demand for pies, tarts, sauce, &c., as it 
is in its prime previous to the appearance of the fruits tliat are used for such 
purposes. Its growth may be hastened in the spring by inverting barrels over 
the plants. The stalks when 15 or 18 inches long are pulled, and tied in bundles of 3 
or 4 inches diameter, cutting off all except an inch or two of the leaves. They are 
shipped in crates or ventilated boxes, and usually sell at from 4 to 15 cents per bunch, 
according to earliuess, thickness of stalks, &c., but usually at 5 or 6 cents each 

If planted on clay soils, such soils may be kept from baking by cultivating after each 
hard rain when not too wet. Draining is also often completely successful. Another 
partially successful way, is to plow under coarse manure thickly, or coal ashes two or 
three inches deep. Coal ashes only have a mechanical efifcct, unless wood ashes are 
mixed with them when making up fires. A forkful of rotted manure placed over each 
hill in November, is excellent, and should be forked under early the following spring. 

33 



THE FRUIT GROWER'S FRIEND. 



LIQUID GRAFTING WAX.— This may be made ready for use, and kept in bot- 
tles for years, by heating i lb. of common rosin slowly, and then stirring in i oz. of 
beef tallow; when a little cooler stir in a tablespoonful of spirits of turpentine, and 
then add 7 ozs. of alcohol while still warm. If it should become thickened by keeping, 
then warm the grafting wax slowly, and add more alcohol. Shellac varnish, which is 
often used for keeping the air and rain out of large wounds from pruning, or from cut- 
ting out the black-knot in plum trees, is made by merely dissolving \ lb. of gum shel- 
lac in a pint of alcohol. It should be prepared a few days before wanted for use, and 
will keep for years in well-stopped bottles. 

GRAFTING WAX; GRAFTING, &C.— This wax may be made by melting 
slowly 4 lbs. of common rosin, and i lb. each of beeswax and tallow. Some persons 
use a larger proportion of rosin. When nearly cold it may be made into sticks an inch 
thick, and kept in water for a year or two, if necessary. The use of lard or butter on 
the hands prevents the wax from sticking to the hands when grafting. If cherries are to 
be grafted, it should be done ve)y early in the spring, before the buds swell, or just as 
the snow is about disappearing. Plums, also, should be grafted quite early, if at all. 
Pears and apples later, but before the buds open, if possible. Success, however, is often 
obtained in grafting apples even when in blossom, if the cions or grafts have been cut 
very early, or in winter, and kept buried in wet sand or sawdust in the cellar, or buried 
in the shade of a building, or if obtained from further north. Budding of peaches, 
plums, apricots, cherries, pears, &c., is performed in July, August, and September, when 
the bark separates easily from the wood. 

FRUIT ROOMS. — If under the house, it is well to have the ceiling plastered to 
prevent unhealthy effects from decaying fruit. If under barns or stables, or in them, 
then all unpleasant odors should be kept away from the fruit. They should always be 
arranged so as to let in cool air when desired. If convenient, it is better to have apples 
kept in a separate apartment, but not necessary. Sometimes a small building can be 
cheaply made into fruit rooms, by filling in the siding with sawdust, or spent tan-bark. 
If erecting a building on purpose, then the walls and ceiling should be double, using 
tongued and grooved boards inside and out, and filling in with six inches in width of 
sawdust, &c. If good drainage can be obtained, it is well to have the room partly under 
ground ; otherwise it is better to heap up the earth high around the outside. The floor 
may be either of boards, gravel, or cement. The building should have double windows 
and doors, so as to keep warm in winter, and cool in summer. 

Another method is to have the fruit house in the side of a hill, making the walls of 
brick or stone, and having a double roof, packed between with one or two feet of salt 
hay or sawdust. It is well to have the roof to reach pretty near the ground. Even a 
small house, ten or twelve feet square inside, and eight feet high, will hold a large 
amount of fruit, and when kept cool inside will keep early apples or pears until winter, 
and winter apples for a year or more. When properly made and regulated, a fruit 
house will add greatly to the enjoyment to be obtained from fruits, 

34 



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